INTRODUCTION 
The genus Liophis currently contains 35 species and 62 recognized 
subspecies. About 137 names have been proposed, attesting to extensive 
qualitative and quantitative variation between and among the species of 
Liophis. The purpose of the checklist, keys, and country lists is to offer 
museum curators and herpetologists a means to identify the species and 
subspecies of one of the most commonly encountered xenodontine snake genera 
of the Neotropics. Species lists are constructed from specimens personally 
examined and verified by me. The keys resulted from an analysis of variation 
of 5,198 specimens of all recognized populations. 
Some species have been recognized since 1758 and others as recently as 
1987. Some species are represented in collections by only a few specimens 
(L. atraventer, L. problematicus), by several hundred (most species), or over 
a thousand (L. miliaris, L. poecilogyrus). Taxonomic data are generally 
adequate for most taxa. 
The checklist contains the accepted name and its author, followed by 
primary synonomies, their author(s), date, page number, and type locality. 
The primary synonomies are followed by the author, date, and page number of 
the first proper usage of the epithet, if necessary for clarification. 
Species are arranged alphabetically. Subspecies are also arranged 
alphabetically under each species, except for the nominate race, which is 
placed first. Synonomies for subspecies follow the accepted name, arranged 
in alphabetical order, followed by the author(s) name(s). A statement of 
distribution follows the synonomy of each species and subspecies, along with 
a citation denoting a publication with a distribution map. 
