Erythrolamprus mertensi (ROZE, 1964)

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Higher Taxa	Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Mertens' Tropical Forest Snake
Synonym	Umbrivaga mertensi ROZE 1964 Umbrivaga mertensi — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 319 Umbrivaga mertensi — KORNACKER 1999: 143 Erythrolamprus mertensi — GRAZZIOTIN et al. 2012 Umbrivaga mertensi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 761
Distribution	Venezuela (Aragua) Type locality: Parque Nacional “Henri Pittier”, Rancho Grande, Venezuela.
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: MBUCV 3046, a 345 mm male (L. Aristeguieta, April 1953).
Diagnosis	Diagnosis (genus Umbrivaga): This genus is related to the Leimadophis,Liophis and Urotheca assemblage of snakes, but its dentition differs from that of any of the genera in this complex. The teeth on the maxilla are directed inward, so that the axis of each tooth is almost horizontal. There are only 6 + 2 to 7 + 2 maxillary teeth, the last two considerably enlarged, lance-shaped, and separated from the rest by a large diastema (Fig. 1 in Roze 1964). Moreover, there is a shelf-like anterior projection of the premaxilla (Fig. 2 in Roze 1964), not observed in any related genus. Table 1 (Roze 1964: 535) summarizes the diagnostic characteristics of the genera Leimadophis, Lygophis, Liophis, Urotheca, and Umbrivaga). Additional details (414 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	Type species: Umbrivaga mertensi ROZE 1964 is the type species of the genus Umbrivaga ROZE 1964. The genus has been synonymized with Erythrolamprus by Grazziotin et al. 2012.
Etymology	Named after Robert Mertens (1894-1975), Russian-born herpetologist who worked most of his life at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. See also Haacke 1975.
References	Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here Grazziotin, Felipe G.; Hussam Zaher, Robert W. Murphy, Gustavo Scrocchi, Marco A. Benavides, Ya-Ping Zhang and Sandro L. Bonatto 2012. Molecular phylogeny of the New World Dipsadidae (Serpentes: Colubroidea): a reappraisal. Cladistics DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2012.00393.x - get paper here Haacke, W.D. 1975. Obituaries on African Herpetologists- Mertens, R. 1894 - 1975. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (14): 35-36 - get paper here Kornacker,P.M. 1999. Checklist and key to the snakes of Venezuela. PaKo-Verlag, Rheinbach, Germany, 270 pp. Lancini,A.R. & Kornacker,P.M. 1989. Die Schlangen von Venezuela. Armitano Editores C.A., Caracas, 1-381 Natera-Mumaw, Marco; Luis Felipe Esqueda-González & Manuel Castelaín-Fernández 2015. Atlas Serpientes de Venezuela. Santiago de Chile, Dimacofi Negocios Avanzados S.A., 456 pp. - get paper here RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here Roze, Janis A 1964. The snakes of the Leimadophis-Urotheca-Liophis complex from Parque Nacional Henri Pitter (Rancho Grande), Venezuela, with a description of a new genus and species. Senckenbergiana Biologica 45 (3/5): 533-542 Test, Frederic H.;Sexton, Owen J.;Heatwole, Harold 1966. Reptiles of Rancho Grande and vicinity, Estado Aragua, Venezuela. Miscellaneous publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (128): 1-63 - get paper here Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
External links	IUCN Red List Google images

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