98 



REPTILIA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE -^ "^ DRYMOBIUS 



DRYMOBIUS Fitzinger 



1843 Drymob ius Fitzinger, Systema Reptilium: 26. Type-species: Herpetodryas marqar i t if erus Schlegel. 

 1853 Crossanthera Cope, American Naturalist, 1853= *81' Type-species: Dendroph id ium melanotrop is Cope. 



Distribution: Texas on Atlantic slope and Chiapas, Mexico on Pacific slope through Central America 

 to Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. 



Content: Four species. 



Key to the species Clave de especies 



1. Dorsal pattern not reticulate; individual 1. Diseno dorsal no reticulado; escamas indivi- 



scales not green surrounded by black 2 dualmente no verdes rodeadas de negro 2 



Dorsal pattern reticulate; each scale green Diseno dorsal reticulado; cada escama verde, 

 surrounded by blacl< marqar i t i f erus rodeada de negro marqar i t i f erus 



2. Dorsal pattern without rhomboid blotches, more 2. Diseno dorsal sin manchas romboidales, mas o 



or less uniform green 3 menos un i f ormemente verde 3 



Dorsal pattern of rhomboid blotches rhomb iter Disefio dorsal de manchas romboidales-- rhombifer 



3. Keels on middorsal scale rows not blackish J. Quillas de las filas mediodorsales no negras 



chlorot icus chlorot i cus 



Keels on three middorsal scale rows blackish Quillas de las tres filas mediodorsales negras- 



melanotrop i s melanotrop i s 



DRYMOBIUS CHLOROT ICUS (Cope) 



1886 Dendroph idium chloroticum Cope^ Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc, 23 (I885): 278. Type-locality: 



Guatemala; restricted by Cope, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 32, I887, 69, to Coban, [Alta Verapaz], 

 Qua temala. 



1887 Drymobius chlorot i cus — Cope. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 32: 65. 



Distribution: Moderate and intermediate elevations; San Luis de Potos', Mexico, along Caribbean 

 coast to Honduras, and Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico to Costa Rica on Pacific slope. 



DRYMOBIUS MARGARITIFERUS (Schlegel)^ 



I837 Herpetodryas marqar i t i f erus Schlegel, Essa i Physion. Serpens, 2: 184. Type-locality: New 



Orleans (in error); restricted by Smith, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 92, 1942, 383, to Veracruz, 

 Mexico; further restricted to Cordoba, Veracruz, by Smith and Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 



33, 1950, ,317- 



I878 D.[ rymobius J marqar i t i f erus — Cope. Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc, 17 (I877): 35. 

 Distribution: Texas through Central America to South America. 

 Content: Four subspecies, one f fistulosus Smith) ex tral i m i tal. 



Key to the subspecies Clave de subespecies 



1. Anterior margins of median dorsal scales j, gorde anterior de escamas dorsales medianas 

 blue in adults, white in faded specimens, 32^]^ g^ adultos, claro en especfmenes 

 gray in juveniles; well differentiated marchitados, gris en juveniles; b i en di- 



from black scale tip 2 ferenciado de apices negros de escama 2 



Color not as above occidental is Diseno dorsal no como el anterior 



occ iden tal i s 



A petition currently before the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature [z.N.(S.) I7O4] 

 would set aside Coluber Ch iametla Shaw, Gen. Zool., Amphib., 2, 1802, 440, in favor of its younger 

 Synonym, marqar i t i ferus Schlegel. The rules direct the retention of the status quo until a decision 

 is reached, so we retain the junior synonym here. The name ch iametla would apparently be allocated to 

 subspecies f istulosus . if used. 



