Morphological and biological variations of the glass snake Ophiodes striatus (Spix, 1825) (Squamata, Anguidae) from southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Lizards of the Ophiodes genus, popularly known as glass snakes, are exclusively Neotropical. Despite their wide geographic distribution, glass snakes are poorly studied and there are many knowledge gaps in their biology and ecology to be filled. In this context, the objective of this study was to analyze possible sexual and population morphological differences of Ophiodes striatus specimens collected from different municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 63 specimens belonging to the Herpetological Collection of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora - Reptiles (CHUFJF-Reptiles), collected between 1995 and 2015 were analyzed. All the specimens were necropsied and morphometric measures related to body and head were measured. The males and females analyzed showed similar morphometric measures, and there was no size-related sexual dimorphism. Principal component analysis did not group the analyzed specimens by sex or locality. A positive correlation was observed between the snout-vent length and the vestigial limb length. The present study brings new information related to sexual dimorphism and population morphometric variation of O. striatus, adding information that will help in better understanding the ecology, biology and evolution of the genus in Brazil.