The new Tropidophis is to be named Tropidophis leonae sp. nov., the Jaragua Golden Trope, after Dominican biologist Yolanda M. Leon, a conservation advocate who logistically supported the project. The work was accomplished by Miguel A. Landestoy T. in a single author paper – Bravo! . The author is also the discoverer of Chilabothrus ampelophis (see: ).
This new species is smaller and laterally compressed when compared to the only other Trope on the large island, Tropidophis haetianus.  It has a higher ventral count, differs in head width, neck width, color and pattern.
The Trope was found preying on tadpoles and small toadlets in several inches of water in a limestone hole.  It is found only from the karst foothills near Pedernales Province.  This brings the number of Tropidophis to 35, with six of them living on the mainland.  There is so much work to be done with this genus.  Who will take up the monumental challenge?
The new paper can be found here.

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This new Tropidophis species was found while examining a series of snakes from the Andes of Ecuador.  The new species is tentatively placed as a sister-clade to Tropdophis taczanowskyi.  More research is needed as the sequences for the mainland species are  absent in the database.  “Cacuangoae” is Latinized in honor of human rights Ecuadoran activist Dolores Cacuango.
This new Trope brings the number of valid species to 34, with six of those found on the mainland.  On the mainland, the Tropes are evenly divided with three on the Atlantic highland forest range of eastern Brazil and three on the West side of the continent in montane tropical forests of Ecuador and Peru; yet east of the Andes.  It is interesting all are  found at higher and cooler elevations.
This paper highlights the need for more work on the Genus-there is little to no sequencing available for the genus in its entirety.  That work would clarify some species validity issues, allow candidate species to be described, invalidate others and, most likely, raise a whole new littany of questions about the genus .

Read the new paper published in the European Journal of Taxonomy 854: 1-107 (2022) here.

Citations