205 



MICRURUS 



Key to the subspecies 



1. Fewer than 40 black bands in both sexes 2 



Black bands 40-55 '" males, 44-61 in 



females ap iatus 



2. More or less perfect narrow black central 



band present between two regular black 

 body bands, dividing red band in two and 

 formed by concentration of black tips; 



black bands 31"3'' i" females aqlaeope 



No central black band within red band; 

 occasionally black tips concentrated 

 around middle of red band; black bands 24- 



33 in females, usually fewer than 3'' 



sapper i 



Clave de subespecies 



1. Menos de 40 bandas negras en ambos sexos--2 

 Bandas negras 40-59 ^" machos, 44-61 en 



hem bras ap iatus 



2. Con banda central negra angosta mas o menos 



perfecta entre dos bandas negras regulares 

 del cuerpo, dividiendo la banda roja en 

 dos y formada por concentrac i on de apices 



negros; 31"3^ bandas negras en hembras 



aqlaeope 



Sin banda negra central en el rojo, oca- 

 sionalmente ap ices negros se concentran 

 aprox i madamen te en el medio de la banda 

 roja; 24-33 bandas negras en hembras, 

 usualmente menos de 3'^ sapper i 



Micrurus d iastema aqlaeope (Cope) 



1860 Elaps aglaeope Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila., I855: 344. Type-locality: Honduras. 

 1967 Mi crurus d iastema aqlaeope — Roze, Amer. Mus. Novitates, 2287: 15- 



Distribution: Mountains of northwestern Honduras. 



M icrurus d iastema ap i a tus (jan) 



1858 Elaps apiatus Jan, Rev. Mag. Zool., (2) 10: 522. Type-locality: Veracruz, Mexico (shown to 

 be a lapsus for Verapaz, Guatemala, by Schmidt, Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., 20, 1933> 

 38; later restricted to Coban, Guatemala, by Smith and Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sc i . Bull., 33> 



1950, 317)- 

 1967 Micrurus diastema apiatus — Roze, Amer. Mus. Novitates, 2287: 15- 



Distribution: Caribbean slope from Chiapas, Mexico, to central Guatemala; may also occur in 

 Tabasco and Veracruz, Mexico, according to Roze, I.e. 



Micrurus d iastema sapper i (Werner) 



1903 Elaps fulvius var. sapperi Werner, Zool. Anz., 26: J^O. Type-locality: Guatemala. 



1927 Elaps quatemalens is Ahl, Zool. Anz., 7'^= 25I. Type-locality: Guatemala. 



1933 Micrurus affinis stantoni Schmidt. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., 20: 36. Type-locality: 



Belize, British Honduras. 

 1967 M icrurus d iastema sapperi — Roze, Amer. Mus. Novitates, 2287: 17- 



Distribution: Southern Veracruz to lowlands of northern Guatemala and British Honduras, 

 omitting Yucatan Peninsula. 



MICRURUS DISSOLEUCUS (Cope) 



1860 Elaps dissoleucus Cope. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila., 1859' 3*5' Type-locality: Venezuela 



(restricted to Maracaibo, Zulla, Venezuela, by Roze, Acta Biol. Venezuelica, 1, 1955> ^l^)- 

 1925 Micrurus dissoleucus — Amaral, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 47: 18. 



Distribution: Caribbean slopes from Panama Canal Zone to eastern Venezuela. 



Content: Four subspecies. 



Key to the subspecies Clave de subespecies 



1. Subcaudals more than 22 in males; usually 



more than 18 in females 2 



Subcaudals 21-22 in males, 17-19 'n females 

 melanoqeny s 



2. Usually eight or more triads in both sexes- 



....1...1 3 



— n i qr i rostr i s 



Triads 6- 



in both sexes- 



1. Subcaudales mas de 22 en machos; usualmente 



mas de 18 en hembras 2 



Subcaudales 21-22 en machos; 17-19 ^n 

 hembras melanogenvs 



2. Usualmente ocho o mas triadas en ambos 



sexos 3 



Triadas 6-8 en ambos sexos n i or irostr i s 



