101 



REPTILIA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE '^ * "^ ELAPHE 



ELAPHE Fitzinger 



I833 Ela£he. Fitzinger, In Wagler, Oescrip. Icon. Amphib., J: text for pi. 2]. Type-species: Elaphe 



parreys i i Fitzinger = Coluber quatuorl Ineatus Lacepede. 

 1843 Pantherophis Fitzinger, Syst. Rept.: 25. Type-species: Coluber guttatus Linnaeus. 

 1853 Scotophis Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Rept.: 73. Type-species: Coluber alleqhan iens is 



Holbrook - C_. obsoletus Say. 

 1343 Pseudelaphe Mertens and Rosenberg (subgenus novum), Wochenschr i f t (Blatter) fUr Aquarien and 



Terrar i enkunde, J: 6I. Type-species: Coluber f lav iruf us Cope. 



Distribution: United States through Central America to Panama and Costa Rica. 



Content: Eight species, six of which ( gut ta ta Linnaeus, vulp i na Baird and Girard, obsoleta Say 

 phaescens Dowling, rosal iae Mocquard and subocular i s Brown) are extral im i tal, according to 

 Cowling, Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich., $41, 1952. 



Key to the species Clave de especies 



1. With three dark bands on parietal region, one 1. Con tres bandas oscuras en la region parietal, 



on midline between parietals and one one outer una en la 1 fnea media entre parietales y una 



margin of each parietal; usually eight upper en borde externo de cada parietal; usualmente 



labials tr i asp i s ocho labiales superiores tr lasp is 



Sin tres bandas mas o menos continuas en los 



Lacking three more or less continuous bands on parietales; usualmente nueve labiales 



parietals; usually nine upper labials superiores f lav irufa 



f lav i ruf a 



ELAPHE FLAVIRUFA (Cope) 



I867 Coluber flavirufus Cope. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila., I867: 319. Type-locality: Yucatan; 



restricted to vincinty of Campeche, Campeche, by Dowling, Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich., 



542, 1952, 3. 

 1936 Elaphe flavirufa — Gaige, Carnegie Inst. Washington Publ., 547: 299. 



Distribution: Mexico and Guatemala on Caribbean Coast to Corn Island, Nicaragua. 



Content: Four subspec i es, two of which ( f lav irufa Cope and ma tuda i Smith) are ex tral i m i tal. 



Key to the subspecies Clave de subespecies 



1. Maximum 34 (usually 33) scale rows; pos- 1. Maximo 34 (usualmente 33) filas de escamas; 



terior minimum 23 scale rows polyst icha mfnimo posterior 23 filas polyst icha 



Maximum 3I scale rows; posterior minimum Maximo 3I filas de escamas; mfnimo pos- 



21 scale rows pardalina terior 21 filas pardalina 



Elaphe f lav irufa pardal ina (Peters) 



1868 Elaphis pardalinus Peters, Monats. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1868: 642. Type-locality: 



Unknown. 

 1887 Elaphis rodriguezii Bocourt. le Naturaliste, (2) 14: I68. Type-locality; Panzos, Alta 



Verapaz, Guatemala. 

 1952 E laphe flavirufa pardalina — Dowling, Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich., 540: 9. 



Distribution: Alta Verapaz, Guatemala through Honduras to Corn Island, Nicaragua. 



Elaphe f lav i rufa polyst icha Smith and Williams 



1966 Elaphe flavirufa polysticha Smith and Williams, Nat. Hist. Misc. Chicago Acad. Sc i . , I85: 

 1. Type-locality: Ruatan Island, Islas de la Bahfa, Honduras. 



Distribution: Known only from type localit 



y- 



