Telescopus guentheri (ANDERSON, 1895)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Telescopus guentheri?
Telescopus guentheri
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Tarbophis guentheri ANDERSON 1895 Tarbophis obtusus — BOULENGER 1896 Tarbophis guentheri — ANDERSON 1901: 150 Tarbophis guenteri [sic] — SCORTECCI 1932: 46 Tarbophis guentheri — SCHMIDT 1939: 85 Telescopus dhara — CORKILL & COCHRANE 1965 Telescopus dhara dhara — GASPERETTI 1988: 278 Telescopus dhara guentheri — WELCH Telescopus guentheri — FRANK & RAMUS 1995: 240 Telescopus guentheri — RIBEIRO-JÚNIOR et al. 2025: 32 |
| Distribution | E UAE, N Oman Type locality: Muscat, Oman |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Syntypes: NHM 1946.1.4.86–87, two males, Hydramaut, Yemen (15.45°N, 49.00°E); NHM 1946.1.7.21, male, Muscat, Oman (23.57°N, 58.40°E); NHM 1946.1.21.54, male, Muscat, Oman (23.57°N, 58.40°E); NHM 1946.1.2.56, female, Sheikh Othman, near Aden, Yemen (12.87°N, 45.01°E); NHM 1946.1.2.32, male, Laheje, near Aden, Yemen (13.06°N, 44.88°E). These types comprise a composite series, in which T. dhara and T. guentheri are included (NHM 1946.1.4.86–87, NHM 1946.1.2.56, NHM 1946.1.2.32, T. dhara; NHM 1946.1.7.21, NHM 1946.1.21.54, T. guentheri). Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025: 32 designated NHM 1946.1.21.54 as lectotype (Figs 10, 13). All remaining syntypes become paralectotypes of this species. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Telescopus guentheri is distinguished from all other species of Telescopus by the combination of the following characters: (1) 21 dorsal scales at the anterior body; (2) 21 dorsal scales at midbody; (3) 13 dorsal scales at the posterior body; (4) a single anal scale; (5) two temporals with different sizes (lower temporal larger and/or longer than the upper one); (6) two pairs of chin shields; (7) 258–274 (X = 264.6) ventral scales; (8) 70–74 (X = 71.2) subcaudals; (9) 270–288 (X = 278.4) dorsal scales; (10) parietal scale not contacting lower temporal scale; (11) a single, dorsal scale bordering the mid-posterior border of parietal scales, with rounded lateral and posterior margins; (12) absence of paired scales on posterior head, following the scale bordering the mid-posterior portion of parietal scales; (13) parietal scales with mid-posterior border feebly pointed to rhomboid, directed latero-posteriorly; (14) three or four (X = 3.6) rows of gular scales between the first pair of chin shields and preventral scale; (15) 15 or 16 (X = 15.4) gular scales in a transverse row between the last infralabials; (16) absence of apical pits on dorsal scales distally; (17) dorsal head similar in colour to the dorsal body or lighter (light brown, brown, or brownish orange); (18) ventral body cream; (19) dorsal body with dark brown or brownish orange blotches (smaller and paired on anterior and posterior body), with short longitudinal dark brown/black stripes along the body, on vertebral and paravertebral region, and with short and narrow, transverse/diagonal, cream stripes along the body; (20) lateral process of palatine present; (21) maxillary nerve foramen in palatine present; (22) palatine–pterygoid articulation overlap joint; (23) medial ridge of parietal present, fused within limits of squamosal; (24) posteriorly directed processes on the supraoccipital present; (25) anterior vidian foramen within basisphenoid; (26) 67.8%–91.7% the relative length of compound bone in females; (27) 25.8%–46.7% the relative length of dentary in males; (28) lamina fenestrated, vomer ring complete; (29) 12 + 2 maxillary teeth; (30) enlarged posterior maxillary teeth; (31) 12 pterygoid teeth; (32) 16 dentary teeth; (33) anterior border of both frontal bones with medial V-shaped indention; and (34) contact between supratemporal–parietal bones. (Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 17652 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy: The species has been considered as a synonym of T. dhara fro decades since GASPERETTI 1988 synonymized guentheri with dhara, but Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025 revalidated it. Boulenger (1896b: 52) and Anderson (1898: 284) followed Anderson (1895) in not considering T. dhara as a valid species. As result, the syntypes of T. guentheri became a composite type series, in which specimens belonging to both T. dhara and T. guentheri were included. Thus, the original diagnosis of T. guentheri could not characterize this species, but a species group that includes both T. dhara and T. guentheri. (Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025) Distribution: for a map of localities see Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025: 35 (Figure 13). |
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