2n 



REPTILlA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE * "A" NINIA 



NINIA Baird and Girard 



1853 iiilLi-3. Baird and Girard, Catalogue of North American Reptiles: i'). Type-species: Ni n ia 



d iademata Baird and Girard. 

 185* Streptophorus Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen,, 7" 51*' Type-species; Streptophorus 

 b i fasc ia tus Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril. 



Distribution: Mexico through Central America to Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. 



Content: Eight species. 



Key to the species Clave de especies 



1. Fewer than 21 scale rows at midbody 2 1, Menos de 21 filas de escamas al medio del 



With 21 scale rows at midbody hudson i euerpo 2 



Filas de escamas al medio del euerpo 21- hudson i 



2. Scale rows at midbody I5 3 2. Escamas en I9 filas al medio del euerpo 3 



Scale rows at midbody 1/ 6 Escamas en I7 filas al medio del euerpo 6 



3. Fewer than 75 subcaudals 4 3» Menos de 75 escamas subcaudales i 



More than ]0 subcaudals ' d iademata Mas de ]0 escamas subcaudales d i adema ta 



4. Venter usually immaculate, not variegated with 4. Vientre generalmente inmaculado, no variegado 



yellow and black 5 de negro amarillo 5 



Venter never immaculate, variegated with yellow Vientre nunca inmaculado, variegado de negro 

 and black maculata y amarillo macula ta 



5. Dorsum reddish, with black collar sebae 5- Dorso rojo, con collar negro sebae 



Dorsum black, no collar a tra ta Dorso negro, sin collai a tra ta 



6. Dorsum not unicolor, at least a nuchal collar 6. Dorso no unicolor, al menos collar nucal 



present 7 presente 7 



Dorsum uniform black psephota Dorso negro uniforme psephota 



7. Dorsum blackish with 5*"64 light crossbars; no J, Dorso pardo negruzco, atravesado por '^i-6t 



nuchal collai oxynota bandas grises claras; collar nucal ausente 



Dorsum dark blue, without crossbars; yellow oxynota 



nuchal collar cerroensis Dorso azul oscuro, no atravesado per bandas 



grises claras; collar nucal presente, de color 

 amar i lien to cerroens i s 



NINIA ATRATA (Hallowell) 



1845 Coluber atratus Hallowell^ Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila,, 1845: 245. Type-locality; within 200 

 miles of Caracas, Venezuela. 



1854 Streptophorus Lansberq i Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., 7^ 518. Type-locality: Caracas, 



Venezuela. 

 I854 Streptophorus Droz i i Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., 7= 518. Type-locality: New 



Orleans; in error. 

 I860 Ninia atrata — Cope. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1860: 34O. 

 1862 Streptophorus sebae Schm i dt i Jan, Arch. Zool. Anat. Fis., 2: 27. Type-locality: Guayaquil, 



Ecuador. 

 1881 Ninia spilogaster Peters, Sitz. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1881: 43. Type-locality: 



Ecuador. 



Distribution: Southern Central America In Panama and Costa Rica to Ecuador, Venezuela and Trinidad. 



Comment: This taxon is a primary homonym of Coluber atratus Gmelin, I788, but it has been validated 

 by the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature, Op. 644, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 20, 

 1963, 26. 



NINIA CERROENSIS Taylor 



195* Ninia cerroens is Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., J6: 699' Type-locality: Pacific slope of 

 Cerro de la Muerte, on Pan-American Highway, Costa Rica, at approximately 75^^ ^^' 



Distribution: Known only from type locality. 



