82 



REPTILIA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE 



*••* 



DIPSAS 



DIPSAS Laurent! 



1768 Dipsas Laurent!, Synops. Rept. : 85. Type-spec ! es: Dipsas J . nd!ca Laurent!. 



1810 Bunqarus Oppel (partim; non Bunqarus Daudin I8O3), Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Par!s, I3: 351. 



Type-'spec i es: none designated. 

 184S Pholidolaemus Fitzinqer. Syst. Rept., 1: 2/. Type-species: C oluber bucephala Shaw. 

 1853 Di^sadomorus Dumlril, Mem. Acad. Sc i . , Parrs, 2J: *67. Type-species: D ipsas indica Laurenti. 

 1853 Leptoqnathus Dumeril (non Leptoqnathus Swainson 1839), Mem. Acad. Sc i . Pans, 2J: 46/. 



Type-species: none designated. 

 18S^ Stremmatoqnathus Dumeril, Mem. Acad. Sc i . Paris, 23: 468. Type-species: C oluber catesbeji 



Sentzen. 

 1895 Neopareas Gunther, Biol. Centr. Amer. Rept.: 178. Type-species: Neopareas bicolor Gunther. 

 1523 Heterorhachis Amaral, Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, 8: 54. Type-species: Heterorhach is 



poecilolepsis Amaral. 



Distribution: Tropical Mexico, Central America and South America. 



Content: 3I species, of which three ( eleqans (Soulenger), qaiqeae (Oliver), and maxiUaris Werner) 

 are extral im i tal, according to the most recent revision, Py Peters, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. 

 Mich., 114, I56O. 



Key to the species 



1. Scale rows on body I7 or more ( polylep i s 



group) 2 



Scale rows on body 15 or less 4 



2. Scale rows extremely variable over entire 



body 3 



Scale rows consistent number from head to 

 anus polylepis 



3. Ventrals 153 poec i lolep i s 



Ventrals 153 peri janens i s 



Clave de especies 



1. Escamas en I7 mas filas (qrupo polvlepis ) 2 



Escamas en I5 menos filas- 4 



2. Filas de escamas en nijmero extremadamente 



variable a lo largo del cuerpo 3 



Filas de escamas constantes en numero de la 

 cabeza al ano pqlylepis 



3. Ventrales 153 poecilolepis 



Vent rales 153 peri ianensis 



Fig. 1. Dipsas brevifacies . illustrative 

 of art iculata group. 



4. Dorsal pattern of broad, dark-brown or black 



bands that are much wider than interspaces, 

 and are couplet* (except in temporal is and 

 vi qu ier i ) across venter over length of body; 

 interspaces pink or red in life, yellow in 



preservative ( art iculata group, Fig. l) 5 



Dorsal pattern not as above 11 



5. Paired chin shields present 6 



All chin shields posterior to labials in con- 

 tact single bicolor 



6. Subcaudals 100 or more- 

 Subcaudals 39 °f less — 



7 



-brevif ac ies 



7. At least one pair of labials in contact behind 



mental ' 8 



Mental in contact with paired chin shields 



temporal i s 



4. Diseflo dorsal de anchas bandts transversas 



pard* oscuras o negras, mis anchas que los 

 interespac i OS, completas (excepto »n 

 temporal! s y vi qu ier i ) co«o anillos a lo largo 

 del cuerpo; i nterespac ios rosa rojo en vida, 

 amarillo en preservados (grupo art iculata . 



Fig. 1) 5 



Diseflo dorsal no como el anterior 11 



5. Con geneiales pares 6 



Geneiales, posteriores al primer par labial en 

 contacto, s imples- bicolor 



6. Subcaudales 100 o mas 7 



Subcaudales 55 ° menos brevifac ies 



7. A lo menos un par de labiales contacta atras de 



la mentoneana 8 



Mentoneana en contacto con el par anterior 

 geneial temporal is 



