283 



REPTILlA: SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE -^ * SPILOTES 



SPILOTES Wagler 



I83O Sp i lotes Wagler, Nat. Syst. Amph.: !]')• Type-species: Coluber pullatas Linnaeus. 

 I863 Aqr iotes Jan, Elenco Sist. Of idi: ^1. Type-species: Herpetodryas i ncertus Jan. 



Distribution: As for single known species. 



Comment: It is unclear to us that Jan intended Aqr i tes as a new generic or subgeneric name. His 

 technique for handling such names is clear, with the genera within a family numbered, and the 

 subgenera centered on the page in parentheses and the species listed below with the initial letter 

 of the genus. Neither method is used for Aqr iotes . which is given in the same fashion used else- 

 where by Jan to indicate prior synonymic placement of the species. It has been cited as a genus 

 by Smith and Taylor, Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., 187, IJAJ, 13I. 



Content: One species. 



SPILOTES PULLATUS (Linnaeus) 



1758 Coluber pullatas L i nnaeus. Systema Naturae, Ed. 10: 22$. Type-locality: Asia; in error. 

 1830 Spilotes pullat .[us] — Wagler, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 175. 



Distribution: Southern Mexico through Central and South America to Argentina. 



Content: Five subspecies. 



Key to the subspecies Clave de subespecies 



1. Without reticulate pattern 2 1. Diseno no reticulado 2 



Pattern reticulate in black and yellow Disef^o reticulado en negro y amarillo 



arqus i form i s arqus i form i s 



2. Dorsum yellow with black streaks and/or 2. Dorso amarillo con fajas manchas negras — 



spots 3 3 



Dorsum black with oblique yellow streaks, Dorso negro con fajas oblTcuas amarillas, 

 posteriorly less conspicuous or becoming poco conspfcuas poster iormente trans- 

 rings pullatus formadas en anillos pullatus 



3. Loreal absent 4 J, Loreal ausente i 



Loreal present mex icanus Loreal presente mex icanus 



4. Regular, subrectangular, transverse 4. Manchas transversas regulares subrectan- 



spot s maculatus gulares macula tus 



Irregular spots, sometimes broken, Manchas irregulares, interrump idas no, 

 occasionally forming rings anomalep is a veces formando anillos anomalep i s 



Sp i lotes pullatus pullatus (l i nnaeus) 



1788 Cerastes coronatus Laurent!, Synopsin Reptilium: 83. Type-locality: Nova' His pa nia. 



1790 Coluber var lab i 1 i s Merrem, Beitr., 2: 40, pi. 12. Type-locality; not known. We have not been 



able to verify this citation taken from Boulenger, Cat. Sn. Brit. Mus., 2, 1854, 23. 

 I8O3 Coluber plutonius Daudin, Hist. Nat. Rept., 6: '}2i. Type-locality: unknown. 

 1820 Coluber ( Na tr i x ) Can i nana Merrem, Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum: 121. Type-locality! 



Mex ico, Braz i 1 , and other regions of South America. 

 I825 C.[ olube r J var iab il is Kuhl i i Wied, Beitrage zur Na turgesch ichte von Brasilien, 1: 27I. 

 I865 Spilotes meoalolepis Gunther, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (3) 15' 93* Type-locality: South 



Amer ica. 

 1920 Sp i lotes pullatus var. ater Sternfeld, Senckenberg i ana, 2: I85. Type-locality: Tobago. 

 1929 Sp i lotes pullatus pullatus — Amaral, Mem. Inst. Butantan, 4: 277, fig. !• 



Distribution: Costa Rica and Panama to Paraguay and northern Argentina; Trinidad and Tobago 

 I slands. 



368-492 O— 70 20 



