Taxonomic status of Apostolepis barrioi Lema, 1978, with comments on the taxonomic instability of Apostolepis Cope, 1862 (Serpentes, Dipsadidae)

By

Entiauspe-Neto, Omar
Sena, Arthur
Tiutenko, Arthur
Loebmann, Daniel

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

841

Pages

71-78

Subjects

Elapomorphini , Neotropical , synonymy , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.841.33404

 

Abstract

Apostolepis is a diverse neotropical snake genus, which has been historically subjected to poor taxonomic descriptions, largely based on either a small type series or subjective diagnoses. We evaluate the case of Apostolepisbarrioi Lema, 1978 and its intricate taxonomic history, suggesting its synonymization with Apostolepisdimidiata (Jan, 1862), and providing brief commentary on the taxonomic instability that has been plaguing the genus.