Flores Ground Snake

description

Synonyms. Stegonotus sutteri Forcart, 1953. Original name. Lycodon florensis de Rooij, 1917: 110. Petronella Johanna “ Nelly ” de Rooij (1883 – 1964; Fig. 17 I) was a Dutch zoologist and, from 1907 – 1922, the curator of the collection in the Zoological Museum at the University of Amsterdam. During this time, de Rooij compiled two important volumes, presenting the first comprehensive descriptions of the reptiles in the Indo-Australian Archipelago (de Rooij 1915, 1917). It is noteworthy that during her career de Rooij experienced heavy discrimination by policies then in place that discriminated against women (Beolens et al. 2011), first against her academic advance, which required her to complete her doctorate (earned in 1907) in Zürich, Switzerland, and later in her position as curator in Amsterdam, from which she elected to resign in 1922 at the age of only 39 due to discriminatory administrative reforms (Adler 2007). Unfortunately, this effectively ended de Rooij’s research career. De Rooij’s portrait (Fig. 17 I) is from the archives of the RMNH. The species name reflects the type locality, Flores Island. The species description was presented in English.

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)

discussion

Comments. Based on x-ray images, Forcart (1954) noted that L. florensis did not possess the characteristic separation dividing the maxillary teeth into two sets, with some enlarged teeth anterior to the gap. Instead, he considered the maxillary dentition of L. florensis to reflect the characteristics used by Duméril et al. (1854) to the genus Stegonotus. It should be noted that this specimens presents with an aberration in the set of supralabial scales on both sides of the head. Unrecognized by de Rooij (1917) and drawn incorrectly in her line drawing of the right lateral side of the head, SL 5 appears to be divided into two parts. While this does not change the overall supralabial count, it influences whether SL 5 contacts the eye or not. In the second specimen of S. florensis we examined, as well as in all specimens of the likely related S. sutteri (see below), SL 5 is a single, large supralabial. De Lang (2011) stated that specimens of S. florensis he studied varied in SL E, with some specimens showing values of 3 + 4 and 4 + 5 in addition to the diagnostic 3 + 4 + 5. We cannot confirm or deny this, but none of the specimens of S. florensis (as well as of S. sutteri, see below)

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)

materials_examined

Holotype. ZMA 11080, an adult female (Fig. 26; Table 1). The specimen is now housed in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. The specimen was figured by de Rooij (1917: Figs. 46, 47). Type locality. “ Flores (near Kotting) ” [Koting, ca. 3 km S Maumere, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, ca. 8.68 ° S, 122.19 ° E]. The catalog entry for the specimen in the ZMA collection reads “ Flores, Omgeving van Kotting, Maumeri-Rivier ” [Flores, vicinity of Koting, Maumere River], and in the Koting area there are numerous small tributaries that drain into one larger riverbed that runs through the city of Maumere on the north coast of Flores. Collection. According to the catalog entry in the ZMA collection, the specimen was collected by G. A. J. van de Sande, a member of the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië [Royal Institute for Linguistics, Geography, and Ethnology of the Dutch Indies], who died in 1909 (Anonymous 1911).

The taxonomic history of Indo-Papuan groundsnakes, genus Stegonotus Duméril et al., 1854 (Colubridae), with some taxonomic revisions and the designation of a neotype for S. parvus (Meyer, 1874)