Atractus pantostictus Fernandes & Puorto 1993
Creators: name: Passos, Paulo
name: Fernandes, Ronaldo
name: Bérnils, Renato S.
name: De Moura-Leite, Julio C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Dipsadidae
Atractus
Atractus pantostictus

description: Atractus pantostictus Fernandes & Puorto, 1993   
(Figs. 3E, 8A)  
 Atractus guentheri – Amaral, 1937; Compte Rendu 12 th Congress Internat. Zool. Lisbon, vol. 3:1751. (part).   
 Atractus guentheri – Peters & Orejas-Miranda 1970; U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 297:29. (part).   
 Atractus pantostictus Fernandes & Puorto 1993; Mem. Inst. Butantan 55:8.   
 Holotype: Adult male, IBSP 54844, collected on 30 June 1992 by M. S. Santos, municipality of Franco da Rocha (23º20’S, 46º43’W, ca. 800 m), state of São Paulo, Brazil (specimen examined).   
 Paratypes: Three specimens, all from Brazil: adult female (IBSP 54237), collected on 15 February 1991 by M. Sacioto, municipality of Jundiaí (23º11’S, 46º52’W, ca. 1070 m), state of São Paulo; adult female (MNRJ 4459), collected on November 1987 by M. Porto and G. Kisteumacher, locality Fazenda Triângulo Formoso, municipality of Pirapora (17º21’S, 44º56’W, ca. 540 m), state of Minas Gerais; adult female (MZUSP 3158), collected on June 1956 by J. Pinto, municipality of Boracéia (22º10’S, 48º45’W, ca. 440 m), state of São Paulo.   
 Diagnosis: Atractus pantostictus is distinguished from all congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) 17 smooth dorsal scale rows at midbody; (2) two postoculars; (3) moderate loreal; (4) temporals 1+2; (5) seven supralabials, third and fourth contacting chinshields; (6) usually seven infralabials, first four contacting chinshields; (7) six to eight maxillary teeth; (8) three gular scale rows; (9) usually three preventrals; (10) 154–170 ventrals in females, 145–166 in males; (11) 19–28 subcaudals in females, 22–33 in males; (12) dorsal ground colour creamish yellow to brown uniformly scattered with small black dots; (13) venter immaculate creamish white; (14) moderate body size, females reaching 390 mm SVL, males 322 mm SVL; (15) tail short to moderate in females (6.4–13.2% SVL) and short to long (8.0–17.6% SVL) in males; (16) hemipenis slightly bilobed, slightly semicapitate, and semicalyculate.   
 Comparisons: Among all congeners, A. pantostictus shares seven upper and lower labials, seven to eight maxillary teeth, dorsum pale to pale brown uniformly scattered with small black dots, venter immaculate creamish white only with A. maculatus, A. potschi, and A. ronnie. Atractus pantostictus differs from A. maculatus by having slightly bilobed hemipenis with lateral projections of lobes (vs. hemipenis moderately bilobed lacking lateral projections); from A. potschi by having 17 dorsal scale rows on midbody, dots on dorsum never fused to form crossbands or blotches, hemipenis slightly bilobed with lateral lobes projections (vs. 15 dorsal scale rows, dots frequently fused forming tiny crossbands or transverse blotches, hemipenis moderately bilobed lacking lobe projections); from A. ronnie by having black collar capitular crotch indistinct on asulcate side of hemipenis, and lateral tip projections on lobes (vs. lacking black collar on neck and lateral tip projections, and capitular crotch evident).   
 Description: Head twice as long as wide, flattened in lateral view, round in dorsal view; snout truncate in lateral view, round in dorsal view; cervical constriction indistinct; rostral sub-triangular in frontal view, poorly visible in dorsal view; internasal as long as wide; internasal suture sinistral with respect to prefrontal suture; prefrontal as long as wide; supraocular sub-rectangular, twice as long as wide; frontal pentagonal, longer than wide; parietal twice as long as wide; nasal divided; nostril located between prenasal and postnasal; prenasal twice as high as long; postnasal slightly higher than long; loreal moderate, contacting second and third supralabials; pupil round; two postoculars; upper postocular higher and longer than lower postocular; temporals 1+2; anterior temporal twice as long as high; upper posterior temporal elongate, three time as long as wide; seven supralabials, third and fourth contacting orbit; second supralabial slightly higher than first and similar in size to third; sixth supralabial higher and seventh longer than remaining supralabials; symphisial sub-triangular, twice broader than long; seven (rarely six) infralabials, first four contacting chinshields; first pair of infralabials in contact behind symphisial, preventing symphisial/chinshields contact; chinshields twice as long as wide; three gular scale rows; usually three preventrals; usually 17/17/17 smooth dorsal scale rows; dorsals lacking apical pits, supra-anal tubercles, and keels; caudal spine moderate, conical, and slightly acuminated.   
 Maxillary arch: Flattened in dorsal view, with four to six prediastemal and two postdiastemal teeth; first three prediastemal teeth closely spaced, remaining moderately spaced, similar in size, curved posteriorly, angular in cross section, robust at base, narrower on the apices; maxillary diastema moderate; postdiastemal teeth half size of last prediastemal tooth; lateral process well developed, lacking posterior projection.   
 Colour in preservative: Dorsum of head uniformly brown or occasionally beige with diffuse grayish brown blotches above cephalic plates; head brown laterally down to dorsal margins of supralabials; frequently with a dark brown blotch covering anterior portion of posterior temporals downward to seventh supralabial; supralabials mostly creamish white, except for black upper margin of third, fourth, and seventh scales; symphisial and infralabials creamish white with dark brown spots on anterior region of each scale; chinshields, gular region, preventrals, venter, and tail immaculate creamish white; dorsal ground colour creamish yellow to brown uniformly scattered with small black dots (one or two scales wide/long); neck region frequently with a black collar (two or three scales long); first dorsal scale row usually uniform creamish white; black dots poorly visible in melanic specimens (Fig. 8A).   
 Juvenile couloration in preservative: Juveniles and sub-adults with dorsal ground colour creamish yellow with uniformly scattered small black dots (one scale long); black collar barely defined or absent.   
 Colour in life: Dorsum of head brown, with some yellowish brown blotches concentrated on the snout region; lower margin of temporal region and supralabials yellow; mental region creamish yellow with some brown spots at anterior infralabials; venter and tail creamish yellow; dorsal ground colour of body reddish brown uniformly scattered with black dots; dots occasionally with yellow borders on flanks (Fig. 3E).   
 Hemipenis morphology (everted organs n = 5): Retracted organ bifurcates and extends to the level of seventh subcaudal. Hemipenis slightly bilobed, slightly semicapitate, and semicalyculate; lobes poorly distinct and restricted to the distal portion of the poorly defined capitulum; lobes with lateral projection covered with small papillate calyces; depressions on the basis of lobes delimiting lateral projections; lateral projections of lobes attenuated and centrifugally oriented; intrasulcar region and medial portion of the asulcate side of capitulum thick, covered with moderate alary spines and spinulate calyces barely distinct; spinules progressively replaced with papillae toward apices of lobular projections, forming barely defined spinulate flounces; capitular groove poorly defined on the asulcate and poorly distinct on the sulcate side of capitulum; capitular groove located just above sulcus spermaticus bifurcation; capitulum longer on the sulcate side and similar in size to hemipenial body on the asulcate side; sulcus spermaticus divides on the basal third of hemipenial body; sulcus spermaticus branches centrifugally oriented, running to the apices of lobular projections; margins of sulcus spermaticus stout and narrow, bordered with spinules from the base of the organ to tip of lobes; hemipenial body subcilyndrical, narrower than capitulum, uniformly covered with moderate hooked spines; basal naked pocket restricted to basal portion of hemipenial body; basal region of hemipenis with longitudinal plicae and disperse spinules (Fig. 6E).   
 Variation: Largest male 322 mm SVL, 35 mm CL, largest female 390 mm SVL, 40 mm CL; tail 8.0– 17.6% (x¯ = 13.6; SD = 2.1; n = 29) SVL in males, 6.4–13.2% (x¯ = 10.3; SD = 1.1; n = 34) SVL in females; 145–166 (x¯ = 150.3; SD = 3.9; n = 31) ventrals in males, 154–170 (x¯ = 163.3; SD = 3.3; n = 34) in females; 22–33 (x¯ = 27.8; SD = 1.8; n = 30) subcaudals in males, 19–28 (x¯ = 22.5; SD = 1.7; n = 34) in females; 6 (n = 3 sides) or 7 (n = 127 sides) infralabials; 3 (n = 2 sides) or 4 (n = 128 sides) infralabials contacting chinshields; 1 (n = 1), 2 (n = 3) or 3 (n = 61) preventrals; 15/17/17 (n = 1), 17/17/15 (n = 5), 16/17/15 (n = 1), 16/17/17 (n = 1), 17/17/15 (n = 5), 17/17/16 (n = 7), or 17/17/17 (n = 50) dorsal scale rows; 6–10 (x¯ = 8.1; SD = 1; n = 124 sides) dorsal scale rows on the level of second subcaudal; 6 (n = 3 sides), 7 (n = 95 sides) or 8 (n = 4 sides) maxillary teeth; retracted hemipenis bifurcates and extends to the level of fifth to ninth subcaudal (n = 11).   
 Distribution: Central and Southeastern Brazil, from Lajeado (09º45’S, 48º22’W) in the state of Tocantins southward to Itapecerica da Serra (23°43'S, 46°51'W) and Paranapiacaba (23°47'S, 46°18'W), both in the state of São Paulo. Atractus pantostictus inhabits Cerrado and Cerrado/Submontane to Lower Montane Semi-decidous Forest transition zones between 200–1200 m elevation (Fig. 9).   
 Remarks: Fernandes and Puorto (1993) clarified the taxonomic status of the Brazilian Cerrado populations previously referred to A. guentheri (see Amaral 1937; Peters & Orejas-Miranda 1970), restricting the species to populations of southeastern Bahia (see also A. guentheri remarks). Fernandes and Puorto (1993) described A. pantostictus on the basis of four specimens from Cerrado regions of the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, Brazil, comparing it with A. guentheri and A. reticulatus. These authors described and illustrated the hemipenis of A. pantostictus based on an almost fully everted organ, which lacks lateral lobe projections as described above.
description: Published as part of Passos, Paulo, Fernandes, Ronaldo, Bérnils, Renato S. & De Moura-Leite, Julio C., 2010, Taxonomic revision of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Atractus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Dipsadidae) 2364, pp. 1-63 in Zootaxa 2364 (1) on pages 21-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2364.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5315506