A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America)Wellman, John
Science
A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America)
Wellman, John
Conophis; Snakes -- Central America
_Conophis lineatus_ (in part), Günther, Biologica
Centrali-Americana, p. 165, March, 1895; Gaige _in_ Pearse,
_et al._ Carnegie Inst. Washington Publ., 457:302, February 5,
1936.
_Conophis lineaticeps_ Cope, Ann. Rept. U. S. Natl. Mus. for
1898, pp. 1094-95, 1900 (Substitute name for _Conophis
vittatus_ Cope, 1861, _nec_ Peters, 1860).
_Conophis lineatus concolor_, Smith, Journ. Washington Acad.
Sci., 31:122-123, March 15, 1941; Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus.,
92:395, November 5, 1942; Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 93:407,
October 29, 1943; Smith and Taylor, Bull. U. S. Natl. Mus.,
187:43, October 5, 1945; Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 33(pt.
2):352, March 20, 1950.
_Types._--Two in the United States National Museum, no. 12368 (two
specimens). Type locality: "Yucatán," restricted to Chichén Itzá,
Yucatán, México by Smith and Taylor (1950:352).
_Diagnosis._--Dark stripes either absent posterior to the nape, or
present as a row of small spots on fourth or seventh scale-row; no
dark stripe on first scale-row; eight supralabials having dark ventral
margins.
_Variation._--Forty-five specimens have 158 to 170 (163.7 ± 1.56)
ventrals. Thirty-eight of these snakes having complete tails have 56
to 74 (66.7 ± 4.77) subcaudals; the number of ventrals plus subcaudals
varies from 222 to 245 (230.6). In 45 specimens the reduction from 19
to 17 dorsal scales takes place between ventrals 89 and 114 (102.5 ±
5.57). Sexual dimorphism is evident in the number of subcaudals; 16
females have 56 to 65 (61.8), and 22 males have 68 to 74 (70.3)
subcaudals. The longest specimen (USNM 46395) is a male from Chichén
Itzá, Yucatán, having a body length of 893 mm., a tail length of 274
mm., and a total length of 1167 mm. A juvenile (AMNH 38833) from
Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, has a body length of 194 mm., a tail length of
50 mm., and a total length of 244 mm.
The venter is immaculate white or pale yellow and the dorsum of the
body is immaculate pale gray to pale olive. Some specimens have small
dark brown spots on the tips of the scales of the 4th or of the 7th
row, but never on both. Only on the nape are spots present on both the
4th and the 7th rows; these spots are the posterior continuations of
the dark stripes on the head and on many specimens do not reach the
nape. Posterior to the place of scale reduction from 19 to 17 rows by
the fusion of the 3rd and 4th rows of scales, the dark spots (when
present) are on the 3rd or 6th row of scales.
The coloration of juveniles is the same as that of adults. Color in
life is thought not too different from that of preserved specimens,
for notes on the color of living individuals (Neill and Allen,
1961:44) agree with what I have observed on preserved snakes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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