Morphological similarities between Amphisbaena mitchelli Procter, 1923 and A. miringoera Vanzolini, 1971 (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae): phylogenetic relatedness or morphological convergence?

Zootaxa. 2016 Sep 16;4168(3):573-576. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4168.3.9.

Abstract

To date, 22 species of amphisbaenids have been recorded at Brazilian Amazon (Ribeiro et al. 2008), six of them are small and have two pre-cloacal pores (Hoogmoed & Ávila-Pires 1991; Teixeira Jr. et al. 2014). Most of these species have narrow distributions, and its biology and phylogenetic relationships are poorly understood (Hoogmoed & Ávila-Pires 1991). Amphisbaena mitchelli Procter, 1923 and A. miringoera Vanzolini, 1971 share several morphological similarities that could reflect phylogenetic relatedness (Vanzolini 1971). Both have two pre-cloacal pores and a similar pattern of head scutelation, but whereas the first has 193-220 and 26-29 body and tail annuli, respectively, the latter has 250-264 and 22-24 (Vanzolini 1971).

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animal Distribution
  • Animal Structures / anatomy & histology
  • Animal Structures / growth & development
  • Animals
  • Body Size
  • Brazil
  • Lizards / anatomy & histology*
  • Lizards / classification
  • Lizards / genetics*
  • Lizards / growth & development
  • Organ Size
  • Phylogeny