Oliver's Parrot Snake

description

Dendrophis liocercus — Court 1884: 382 Leptophis liocercus — Mole & Urich 1894 a: 85 Leptophis coeruleodorsus Oliver 1942: 4. Leptophis ahaetulla ortoni — Beebe 1946: 34 Leptophis ahaetulla — Emsley 1977: 241, fig. 12. Thalerophis richardi coeruleodorsus — Oliver 1948: 228; Marcuzzi 1950: 8; Roze 1953: 208. Leptophis ahaetulla coeruleodorsus — ICZN 1958: 270; Peters & Orejas-Miranda 1970: 162; Roze 1966: 172; Stanton & Dixon 1977: 19; Lancini 1979: 124; Mertens 1973: 143; Lancini & Kornacker, 1989: 174; Péfaur 1992: 14; Harding 1995: 221; Kornacker 1997: 98; Murphy 1997: 179; Gorzula & Senaris 1999: 168; Boos 2001: 125; Lans et al. 2001: 2; Lotzkat 2007: 95; Albuquerque 2009: 293.

A molecular and morphological characterization of Oliver’s parrot snake, Leptophis coeruleodorsus (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) with the description of a new species from Tobago

description

Description of Holotype. AMNH 209022, female, 851 mm SVL, 524 mm tail (undamaged). Rostral visible from above, broader than tall, separates nasals; internasals quadrangular, frontal hexagonal and greater in length than internasal-prefrontal seam; internasal seam 58.1 % of prefrontal seam; parietals broad, in contact with upper postocular; nasals bordered by rostral anteriorly, internasals dorsally, loreal-prefrontal shield posteriorly, and upper labials one and two ventrally; nostril directed laterally, in center of nasal; preocular in contact with loreal-prefrontal shield, supraocular, and upper labials four and five; two postoculars contact the primary temporal and parietal; supraocular about equal in length to frontal; nine upper labials, first two contact nasal, 3 – 4 – 5 contact lorealprefrontal shield, 5 – 6 in the orbit, 7 – 8 in contact with primary temporal; sixth tallest, seventh longest. Lower labials (11 / 10), anterior most (6 / 5) make contact with first pair of chin shields; on both sides there is a small irregular scale between labials five and six, not included in the count. Dorsal scale rows 15 – 15 – 11, keels start on row two; ventrals 160, subcaudals 160. In al

A molecular and morphological characterization of Oliver’s parrot snake, Leptophis coeruleodorsus (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) with the description of a new species from Tobago

diagnosis

Diagnosis. The absence of a loreal distinguishes L. coeruleodorsusus from L. depressirostris, L. diplotropis, and L. mexicanus. A broad, green mid-dorsal stripe with copper to bronze dorsolateral stripes that fade posteriorly and a head that lacks scales outlined in black will separate if from L. ahaetulla (and all its subspecies), L. cupreus, L. modestus L. nebulosus, L. riveti, L. stimsoni. The color pattern of L. haileyi sp nov. in life is unknown; but it has nine upper labials with the last upper labial the longest and in contact with the primary temporal scale.

A molecular and morphological characterization of Oliver’s parrot snake, Leptophis coeruleodorsus (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) with the description of a new species from Tobago

distribution

Distribution. Tobago, Trinidad, and adjacent Venezuela (Apure, District Capital, Miranda Monagas, Nueva Esparta, and Vargas). On Trinidad and Tobago, Leptophis coeruleodorsus probably occurs island-wide where there is suitable habitat, which includes primary and secondary forest, tree plantations, and urban gardens. Literature reports of L. coeruleodorsus on the Isla de Margarita need verification. Pérez-Santos (1988) reported this species from western Colombia, probably based upon mis-identified L. a. occidentalis.

A molecular and morphological characterization of Oliver’s parrot snake, Leptophis coeruleodorsus (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) with the description of a new species from Tobago