REPTILIA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE 



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119 



LEPTOPHIS 



LEPTOPHIS Bell 



1825 Leptoph i s Bell, Zool. Jour., 2: 328. Type-species: Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus. 



1825 Ahaetulla Gray, Ann. Phil., new sen., 10: 208. Type-species: Coluber ahaetulla Linnaeus. 



1826 Dendroph i s Boie, in Fitzinger, Neu'e Classification der Reptilien: 25. Type-species: Coluber 



ahaetulla Linnaeus. 

 I83I Ahoetula Gray (substitute name for Leptoph i s Bell), Synopsis Species Class Reptilia, in Griffith, 



Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, 5' 93' 

 I872 Pi plotrop i s Gijnther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (i) '): 24. Type-species: Pi plotrop i s b i 1 i nea ta 



Gunther. 

 19^7 Thaleroph i s Oliver, Copeia, 1947- 6** Type-species: Coluber r i chard i Bory St. Vincent. 



Distribution: Mexico; Central America, South America west of Andes to Ecuador, east of Andes to 

 central Argentina. 



Content: Seven species, including six recognized in most recent generic revision by Oliver, Bull. 

 Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 52, l?''^, and one other ( cupreus ) more recently revived. One species 

 ( d i plotrop i s Gunther) is extral im i tal. 



Comment: Romer, Osteology of the Reptiles, 195^, 579> includes Leptoph i na Bonaparte, I83I as a 

 generic synonym of Leptoph i s . Neave, Nomenclator Zoologicus, 2, 1939> 9l6> gives Leptoph i na 

 Bonaparte, I83I, Sagg. An. Vert., p. ]i, as a replacement name for Leptoph i s . There is no such 

 name on p. "Ji, however, and Leptoph is Bell is cited without comment on p. 80, both in Bonaparte. 



Key to the species 



Cla 



de 



espec I es 



1. Loreal present- 

 Loreal absent-- 



3. 



Keels present only on paravertebral row and 

 occasionally on adjacent rows; no keels on 

 dorsal caudal scales depress irostr i s 



Keels present on all dorsal scales except first 



row; keels on most dorsal caudal scales 



mex icanus 



Ventrals usually more than 149; adults lack 

 dark oblique bands on body; no keels on first 

 dorsal row 4 



Ventrals 133-145; adults with dark oblique 



bands on body; all dorsal scales keeled 



r i vet i 



Dorsum usually uniform green or blue or with 

 stripes; ventral color contrasts with dorsal 

 color 5 



Dorsum with strong coppery tint; venter also 

 coppery, but slightly darker, with dark brown 

 and white streaking cupreus 



Adult color pattern with broad greenish blue or 

 blue dorsolateral stripe anteriorly on second 

 and third or third and fourth rows; Central 

 America nebulosus 



Adult color pattern not as above, if greenish 

 blue or dark blue stripe is present anterior- 

 ly, it covers more than rows three, four, and 

 five; Central and South America, with striped 

 forms only in lattei ahaetulla 



1. Loreal presente 2 



Loreal ausente 3 



2. Quillas presentes solo en la fila paravertebral 



y ocas ionalmente, en las adyacentes; escamas 



dorsocauda les no quilladas depress i rostr i s 



Quillas presentes en todas las escamas dorsales 

 excepto en la primera fila; la mayoria de las 

 escamas dorsocaudales quilladas mex icanus 



3. Usualmente mas de 145 ventrales; adultos sin 



bandas oscuras oblTcuas en el cuerpo; primera 



fila dorsal no quillada 4 



Ventrales 133"1*5! adultos con bandas oscuras 

 obl'cuas sobre el cuerpo; todas las filas dor- 

 sales qui 11a das r i vet i 



4. Usualmente, dorso en verde azul, uniforme 



lineado; coloracion dorsal en contraste con 



la ventral 5 



Porso pigmentado en tinte cobre fuerte; vientre 

 semejante aunque ligeramente mas oscuro, con 

 lineado en pardo oscuro y bianco cupreus 



5. Piseno de adultos con ancha banda dorsolateral 



anterior, sobre segunda y tercera o tercera y 

 cuarta filas, en azul o azul verdoso; America 



Central nebulosus 



Piseno de adultos no como el anterior, si hay 

 banda azul verdosa azul oscura anter iormen te, 

 ocupa mas que la tercera, cuarta y quinta 

 filas; America Central y delSur; formas con 

 diseno lineado solo en la ultima ahaetulla 



