Calliophis castoe SMITH, OGALE, DEEPAK & GIRI, 2012
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Calliophis castoe?
Calliophis castoe
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Castoe’s coralsnake |
| Synonym | Calliophis castoe SMITH, OGALE, DEEPAK & GIRI 2012 Callophis nigrescens — PHIPSON 1887: 245 Callophis nigrescens — VIDAL 1890: 65–66 (part) Hemibungarus nigrescens var. khandallensis — WALL 1913: 638 (part) Hemibungarus nigrescens — WALL 1928: 22, 35 (part) Hemibungarus nigrescens variety A — WALL 1928: 36 Calliophis castoe — WALLACH et al. 2014: 144 |
| Distribution | India (Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka), elevation 0-750 m Type locality: Amboli, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India, [ca. 715 m elevation] (ca. 15.958790° N 73.994686° E). |
| Reproduction | oviparous. |
| Types | Holotype: BNHS = BNHM (Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay, Maharashtra, India) 3461, an adult male, collected 12 September 2009 by Hemant Ogale (Figs. 3–4, 6–7). Paratypes (2). BNHS 2191, an adult male from Karwar, Karwar (Uttara Kannada district), Karnataka, India, (ca. 15 m) (ca. 14.804947° N 74.133317° E), collected between 1880 and 1887 by G. Vidal (1907 date of collection in BNHS catalogue in error, specimen reported by Phipson in 1887 and Vidal in 1890) (Fig. 5). BNHS 3474, a subadult female from Ambe Ghat, South Goa district, Goa, India, 295 m (15.06400° N 74.16578° E), collected 30 June 2010 by Ravindra Bhambure, Harish Kulkarni, and Varad B. Giri (Fig. 2). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium (536–540 mm TL, mature males), brownish, terrestrial coralsnake in which the tail comprises 12.4–14.0% of the TL in the two known male vouchered specimens and 12.0% in the known female. The maxilla bears 4 maxillary teeth behind the fang, the dentary 10, the palatine 9 and the pterygoid 2. It has sublabial-chin-shield contact variable, usually 7 supralabials (8 on one side of one specimen), 6/6 infralabials, two postoculars, 240–254 ventrals, a divided anal, 45–53 divided subcaudals, dorsal scale rows arranged in 13 rows along entire body, and a color pattern of a wide parietal orange band, an unpatterned vinaceous-brown dorsum, a white lower lip, and Salmon Color to Flame Scarlet ventral and lateral areas (from neck to tail). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Todd A. Castoe, “a talented and prolific scientist, and a partner in the study of coralsnake and pitviper systematics”. The first author has worked on venomous snakes with him and shared “coralsnake trips” to Colombia, México and India. “During a trip to India, we first examined and realized the uniqueness of the species herein described. Because the Latin word castus means pure, the specific epithet is also reminiscent of the unmarked dorsum characteristic of the species.” |
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