Herpetology Notes, volume 8: 191-196 (2015) (published online on 10 April 2015)

Amphisbaena varia (Linnaeus, 1758)

(Amphisbaenia: Amphisbaenidae): new distributional records
from western Panamá

Julie M. Ray1,2,*, Melquiades Castillo H.3, John G. Himes1, Patty Ruback1 and James L. Knight4,5,6

Amphisbaenians are secretive, predominantly limbless
squamates that presumably spend the majority of their
time below ground in burrow systems of their own
construction, although they also have been collected
underground in the colonies of leaf-cutter ants (Atta
spp.; Gans, 1969; Riley et al., 1986). When found
aboveground it is usually at night (Köhler, 2008).
Because of their secretive lifestyle, they are rarely
observed or collected (Ribeiro et al., 2008).
Two species of amphisbaenians, Amphisbaena
spurrelli and A. varia (= A. fuliginosa or A. f. varia in
literature before 2005; Gans, 2005) have been confirmed
from Panamá (Vanzolini, 1951; Gans, 2005; Köhler,
2008; Jaramillo et al., 2010). Only a single specimen
of A. spurrelli (MCZ R-39784) has been vouchered. A
third species, A. alba, was listed for Panamá by Jaramillo
et al. (2010), but distributional data are unavailable and
Köhler (2008) doubted its presence because no vouchers
from Panamá are known. All three taxa were included
in the IUCN category Data Deficient by Jaramillo et
al. (2010). Consequently, very little is known of the
distribution and ecology of these burrowing species.
To date, specimens of A. varia have been reported
primarily from central Panamá near the former Canal
Zone (Colón and Panamá Provinces) and eastward into
South America (Myers and Rand, 1969; Rand and Myers,
1990; Köhler, 2008; localities denoted by the number
1 in Fig. 1). However, Ibáñez et al. (1996) reported
individuals from approximately 50 km southeast of the
Canal Zone, in Altos de Campana, Panamá Province
(8.70°N, 79.95°W; Locality 2 in Fig. 1), and two
specimens from the same area are accessioned in the
collection of the Florida Museum of Natural History
(FLMNH 121759, 154431; identities confirmed by G.
Köhler). Furthermore, another specimen was reported
from an additional 25 km to the southwest in El Valle
de Antón in the extreme eastern part of Coclé Province

1
La MICA Biological Station, El Copé de La Pintada, Coclé
Province, Republic of Panamá.
2
Towson University, Department of Biological Sciences,
Towson, Maryland 21252, USA.
3
Universidad de Panamá, Biología Animal, Facultad de
Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Technología, Ciudad de
Panamá, Panamá Province, Republic of Panamá.
4
Department of Biology and Geology, University of South
Carolina Aiken, 476 University Parkway, Aiken, South
Carolina 29801, USA.
5
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Figure 1. Distribution of records for Amphisbaena varia in
Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA. Panamá. Open circles designate museum records or those
6
Azuero Earth Project, Pedasí, Los Santos Province, Republic found in the literature. Closed circles are sites where animals
of Panamá. reported in this paper were found. Numbers designate sites
* Corresponding author. E-mail: teamsnakepanama@gmail.com mentioned in the text.
192 Julie M. Ray et al.

Figure 2. Specimens of Amphisbaena varia found in the Republic of Panamá and included in this paper. (A) Live adult from Cerro
Azul, Panamá Province (UTADC 8420). (B) Dead-on-road male from Coclé Province (UTADC 7414). This specimen had been
frozen by the time picture was taken. (C) Dead-on-road male from Coclé Province (UTADC 7632). (D) Live adult from Colón
Province (UTADC 7634).

(8.58°N, 80.17°W; Locality 3 in Fig. 1; Quezada,
2006).
Here we document four additional captures, including
the first records of A. varia from western Panama, w
– hich constitute the westernmost occurrence for this
species in Central America. All distances were measured
from the Altos de Campana site using Google Maps.
Museum abbreviations follow Sabaj Pérez (2014), and
photographic images have been accessioned in the
University of Texas at Arlington Digital Catalogue
(UTADC).
JGH found one live individual (digitally vouchered
only; UTADC 8420; Fig. 2A) in eastern Panama (ca.
2.5 km by road NE Cerro Azul, Panamá Province;
9.20°N, 79.40°W; elevation ca. 700 m; Locality 4 in
Fig. 1) on 20 December 2010 at 1230 h. This location
is the easternmost point reported to date for Panamá,
but we suspect that individuals occur throughout eastern
Panamá Province in suitable habitat because the species
ranges south into Colombia and Ecuador (Uetz and
Hošek, 2014). The individual was found just off the
shoulder along a dirt road in a presumably self-made
burrow under a large stump at the corner of a coffee
plantation, and near a small wooded ravine with a creek.
When captured it bit repeatedly. The individual was not
measured or sexed, but it has the characteristic black
and white mottling of the species (Figs. 3A–D).
A second live individual (digitally vouchered only;
UTADC 7634; Fig. 2D) was collected by MCH on 26
August 2010 at 0937 h in Campamento Botija, near Río
Botija, Colón Province (8.81°N, 80.58°W; elevation ca.
40 m asl; Locality 5 in Fig. 1). This location is ca. 70 km
WNW of Altos de Campana. It was collected while it
was moving in leaf litter in an open area near the river.
Amphisbaena varia: new distributional records from western Panamá
Figure 3. Pictures of a live individual of Amphisbaena varia
found near Cerro Azul, Panamá Province, Panama (UTADC
8420). (A) Shown with human hands to provide a sense of
scale. (B) Lateral view of head. (C) Anterior view of head.
Photographs by Kevin Enge.
193
Two specimens were found in Coclé Province. The first
specimen (UTADC 7414; Fig. 2B) was found by Aurelio
González in June 2008 (exact date not recorded) in the
early afternoon. The dead individual was recovered from
the gravel access road in the community of La Barrigón,
located between Parque Nacional General de División
Omar Torrijos Herrera and El Copé de La Pintada,
Coclé Province (8.65°N, 80.59°W; elevation ca. 500 m;
Locality 6 in Fig. 1). This is a range extension of ca.
75 km straight-line distance west of Altos de Campana.
It was presumed to have died recently because it was
still pliable and had not begun to decompose or been
harmed by scavenging ants. It showed no signs of being
hit by a vehicle or having been killed and thrown into
the road. The specimen was found just down the hill
from the entrance to a community vegetable and fruit
farm in an area of cutover grass and was being pecked at
by chickens when collected. The habitat is moderately
developed and no recent disturbances suggested why
the animal was aboveground and on the road.
Our second specimen from Coclé Province (UTADC
7632; Fig. 2C) was a male (total length 424 mm, tail
length 22 mm), collected ca. 8 km SE of El Copé de
La Pintada (8.61°N, 80.57°W; Locality 7 in Fig. 1) on
17 July 2012 at ca. 0800 h by P. Santana and JMR. It
has the characteristic black and white mottled coloration
(Fig. 4A-F) and eight precloacal pores just anterior
to the cloaca (Fig. 4C). Also presented are close up
photographs of the head of this specimen (Figure 4D-
F). The habitat at the site was rolling hills of grassy
pastures and open scrubby woodland without signs of
recent habitat disturbances (Fig. 5). The individual was
presumed to be recently dead for the same reasons as
the specimen described above and found on the paved
two-lane road (vía El Copé) that runs north from the
Pan American Highway at Río Grande/Candelaria to El
Copé de La Pintada. This is a range extension of ca.
70 km from Altos de Campana. The individual was on
the shoulder of the road, just barely protruding onto the
pavement. Its head was slightly flattened, but otherwise
showed no signs of being run over; perhaps it was struck
by a car but not fully hit. The specimen showed no signs
of having been killed by a human and tossed in the
road.
Another specimen from Barrigón, Coclé Province,
was deposited in the Circulo Herpetologico de Panamá
(CHP 4102; identification confirmed by R. Ibáñez). It
was collected at an elevation of 450 m by D. Windsor
and C. Edwards, but little additional information is
available.
194 Julie M. Ray et al.

Figure 4. Preserved specimen of Amphisbaena varia from Coclé Province, Panama (UTADC 7632). (A) Dorsal view. (B) Ventral
view. (C) Ventral close-up view of the head. (D) Dorsal close-up view of the head. (E) View of the cloacal region showing pre-
cloacal pores. This individual was in 70% ethanol for nearly two years after having been fixed in 10% formalin.

Amphisbaena varia is a rarely observed inhabitant of
the neotropics. Before the records we discuss here, the
known geographic distribution of A. varia in Panamá
was from the area of the Panamá Canal eastward into
South America. To date, the senior author has observed
only two individuals of this taxon, even though she has
maintained nearly continuous residence and conducted
regular herpetological surveys in this area since May
2006. Because of the secretive nature of the members of
this genus, individuals are undoubtedly more common
than the few records indicate.
Burrowing animals may be forced to the surface
during disturbances. Other species of amphisbaenians
have been found at hydroelectric dam areas or during
soil removal for agriculture or road building (Ribeiro et
al., 2008). Landslides, either as a result of erosion from
farming or ranching or natural events, are relatively
common events in the steeper areas of Panamá, and
several have occurred the past eight years in La Barrigón
where the first specimen (UTADC 7414) was collected
(JMR, pers. obs.). On occasion, these landslides are
severe enough to result in significant damage (e.g.,
forest loss, road closings, house destruction by flow
debris, and occasional human deaths). Landslides
usually are associated with heavy rainfall events or with
erosion attributable to the clear-cutting of forests for
agricultural purposes, such as farming and ranching. It
also has been suggested that heavy rainfall events could
be a stimulus to bring fossorial animals to the surface
by the flooding of their tunnels (e.g., Nussbaum and
Hoogmoed, 1979).
Because there had been no landslide or heavy rain
events in the immediate area of any of the encounters
we report here, it is unclear just what stimulus or stimuli
brought these specimens to the surface (although the
specimen located near Cerro Azul was found in its
Amphisbaena varia: new distributional records from western Panamá
Figure 5. Habitat where a specimen of Amphisbaena varia
(UTADC 7632) from Coclé Province was found. (A) East
side of the road and location where the specimen was found
with its head on the white line of the road and the body on the
grass. (B) West side of the road and the direction in which it
appeared the animal was moving.
burrow, albeit under a surface object). This suggests
that, at least occasionally, amphisbaenians leave their
burrows (or at least burrow up to the surface) without
an obvious disturbance stimulus and that, perhaps,
aboveground activity is a normal, albeit rarely observed,
facet of their behaviour.
In addition, Köhler (2008) stated that when
amphisbaenians do come aboveground, it is during the
night. However, A. Hertz and S. Lotzkat found two A.
alba in Venezuela during the noon hour, one moving in
full sun and the other found recently dead (Hertz, 2007).
The specimen we found in Colón Province was moving
195
during the day. Furthermore, the two specimens found
in Coclé were dead, but the animals were still pliable and
not yet decomposing, suggesting that they had not been
on the road for long (based on information collected by
JMR during road surveys for dead snakes), and they
also may have been moving crepuscularly or diurnally.
With only chance encounters, any data collected on
any individuals will be useful and would add to our
understanding of this curious group of reptiles.
Acknowledgements. We thank the staff at the University of Texas
at Arlington for cataloging the digital voucher records, C. Bell and
S. Lotzkat for providing literature, and A. González, J.A. Santana,
P. Santana, and the researchers of the Tropical Amphibians in
Streams Project for assistance in field and laboratory. We thank
Kevin Enge for usage of his photographs. We thank Autoridad
Nacional del Ambiente for collection permits SE/A-119-08 and
SE/A-22-12 issued to JMR. Thanks to S. Lotzkat for a review that
greatly improved this paper.
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Accepted by Hinrich Kaiser