A new Amphisbaena with chevron-shaped anterior body annuli from state of Pernambuco: Brazil (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Abstract

A new species of Amphisbaena is described from Fazenda Porto Seguro, municipality of Buique, state of Pernambuco, in the Caatingas of northeastern Brazil based on four specimens. The new species is a small and slender amphisbaenian with four precloacal pores, 333–337 body annuli, 22–23 tail annuli with discrete evidence of an autotomic site on the 10–12 tail annuli, and 14 dorsal and 17–18 ventral segments per annuli at midbody. The high number of body annuli, the presence of chevron-shaped anterior body annuli, and the fusion of frontal scales distinguish Amphisbaena supernumeraria sp. nov. from its congeners.