233 



OXYRHOPUS 



Key to the subspecies 



1. Dorsal bands on body 17"59> usually more 



than 20; if fewer than 25, then more wide- 

 ly spaced, especially posteriorly; little 



or no ontogenetic melanism 2 



Dorsal bands on body few and long, 10-24, 

 but usually fewer than 20, and distinctly 

 wider than light interspaces posteriorly; 

 large individuals often completely 

 melan i st ic di g i tal i s 



2. Bands on body 24-55, usually more than 35> 



approximately equal in length, separated 

 by interspaces about one scale wide 



petola 



Bands on body 15"36, more widely spaced; in 

 interior Colombia posterior bands fre- 

 quently very short and widely spaced; in 

 middle America, preoculars usually not in 

 contact with prefrontal sebae 



Oxyrhopus petola petola (L i nnaeus) 



Clave de subespecies 



1. Bandas dorsales en el cuerpo 17"55» usual- 



mente mas de 20; si son menos de 25 son 

 mas espaciadas, part icularmente posterior- 

 mente; melanismo ontogenico pequefio o 



ausente 2 



Bandas dorsales en el cuerpo pocas y lai — 

 gas, 10-24, usualmente menos de 20, dis- 

 tintamente mas anchas que los interespa- 

 cios Clares poster iormente; grandes indi- 

 viduos f recuentemente completamente 

 melan i cos di q i tal i s 



2. Bandas en el cuerpo 24-55, usualmente mas 



de 35> aprox imadamente iguales en largo, 

 separadas por i nterespacios de una escama 



de ancho petola 



Bandas en el cuerpo I5-36, "'as anchamente 

 espaciadas; en el interior de Colombia 

 bandas posterlores frecuentemente muy cor- 

 tas y anchamente espaciadas; en America 

 Central usualmente las preoculares no con- 

 tactan con prefrontal sebae 



1758 Coluber petolarius Linnaeus. Systema Naturae, Ed. 10: 225. Type-locality: "Indiis". 

 1766 Coluber Pethola Linnaeus (emendation of Coluber Petola Linnaeus), Systema Naturae, Ed. 12: 



387. 



1766 Coluber petalar ius Linnaeus (emendation of Coluber petolar i us Linnaeus), Systema Naturae, 



Ed. 12: 387. 

 I854 Oxyrhopus mult i f asc ia tus Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., f: IOI3. Type-locality: 



Brazil or Cayenne; herewith restricted to Cayenne. 

 I854 Oxyrhopus spad i ceus Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., f: 1028. Type-locality: 



"Cote-Ferme"; which is determined as Cumana and vicinity by Hoge and Lancini, Bol. Mus. 



Hist. Nat. Caracas, 6-7, I56O, 53. 

 I854 Oxyrhopus bi-prae-ocular i s Dumeril, Bibron and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., "J: IO3O. Type-locality: 



Cayenne. 

 1528 Clel ia cornel i i Muller, Zool. Anz., 77' 1^- Type-locality: Maracay, Venezuela. 

 15*6 Oxyrhopus petola petola — Beebe, Zoologica, "^1: 37- 



Distribution: V i 11a v i cenc i o, Colombia east probably to French Guiana; Trinidad. 



Oxyrhopus petola dig i tal is (fieuss), new combination 



I834 Coluber digital is Reuss, Mitgleid. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 1: 148, pi. 5, '^9' !• 

 Type-locality: llheos, Brazil. 



I854 Lycodon ( Oxyrrhopus ) semi f asc latus TschudI, Arch, fur Naturg., 11 (l): I65. Type- 

 locality: Peru; further specified as forest regions of middle Peru by Tschudi, 

 Fauna Peruana, Rept,, 1846, 55, pl- 7' 



1854 Oxyrhopus I mmacula tus Dumeril, Bibron, and Dumeril, Erp. Gen., 7' 1025. Type-locality: 



Unknown. 



1855 Oxyrrhopus I ntermedius Werner, Zool. Anz., 22: 481. Type-locality: Southern Brazil. 



Distribution: Amazonian parts of northern Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador; coastal and central 

 Brazil In forested areas; Choco region of Colombia and eastern Panama, Intergrading with 

 petola petola along the Amazon-Orinoco divide. 



;i68-192 0—70- 



