Telescopus insularis RIBEIRO-JÚNIOR, KOCH, FLECKS, CAMPBELL, CALVO, SPAWLS, VIDAL & MEIRI, 2025
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Telescopus insularis
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Telescopus insularis RIBEIRO-JÚNIOR, KOCH, FLECKS, CAMPBELL, CALVO, SPAWLS, VIDAL & MEIRI 2025: 52 Telescopus dhara — ARNOLD & GALLAGHER 1977 Telescopus dhara — SINDACO et al. 2013, Telescopus dhara — WALLACH et al. 2014 Telescopus dhara — ŠMÍD et al. 2019 Telescopus dhara — CARRANZA et al. 2021. Telescopus dhara dhara — GASPERETTI 1988 Telescopus dhara — SCHÄTTI & GASPERETTI 1994 Telescopus dhara — GARDNER 2013 |
| Distribution | Oman (Masirah Island) Type locality: Masirah Island, Oman (20.35°N, 58.73°E). |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: NHM 1970.305, adult male, collected by F. E. Liscomb (Figs 13, 20). Paratypes (2): NHM 1976.1486, adult male, collected at near Umn Rasays, Ash Sharqiyah South, Masirah Island, Oman (20.48°N, 58.78°E); NHM 1975.2098, juvenile male, collected at R.A.F. Camp, N. end of Masirah Island, Oman (20.66°N, 58.89°E), on 11 November 1975. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Telescopus insularis 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) one temporal scale (the lower one); (6) two pairs of chin shields; (7) 244–246 (X = 245.0) ventral scales; (8) 68–70 (X = 69.0) subcaudals; (9) 256–259 (X = 257.0) dorsal scales; (10) parietal scale in contact with the only temporal scale (the lower one); (11) an irregular pair of dorsal scales bordering the mid-posterior border of parietal scales, with an almost straight (slightly irregular) suture between them; (12) absence of paired scales on posterior head, following the scale bordering the mid-posterior portion of parietal scales; (13) mid-posterior border of parietal scales rounded/rhomboid, directed lateroposteriorly; (14) five rows of gular scales between the first pair of chin shields and preventral scale; (15) 15 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 slightly lighter (brown or light brown); (18) ventral body cream; (19) dorsal body with numerous large dark brown blotches, with short light brown transverse stripes between the blotches; (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 absent; (25) 46.7%–58.6% relative length of anterior portion of skull; (26) 46.8%–67.7% relative length of dentary; (27) vomer ring complete, with lamina fenestrated; (28) 11–12 + 2 maxillary teeth; (29) enlarged posterior maxillary teeth; (30) 12–13 pterygoid teeth; (31) 16 dentary teeth; (32) anterior border of both frontal bones with medial V-shaped indention; and (33) 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 13338 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Distribution: for a map of localities see Ribeiro-Júnior et al. 2025: 35 (Figure 13). |
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