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Drymarchon margaritae ROZE, 1959

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Margarita Indigo Snake
G: Margarita-Indigonatter 
SynonymDrymarchon margaritae ROZE 1959
Drymarchon corais margaritae — ROZE 1964
Drymarchon margaritae — ROZE 1966
Drymarchon corais margaritae — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 96
Drymarchon corais margaritae — MCCRANIE 1980
Drymarchon corais margaritae — LANCINI 1986
Drymarchon margaritae — WÜSTER 2001
Drymarchon margaritae — RIVAS FUENMAYOR et al. 2005
Drymarchon margaritae — UGUETO & RIVAS 2010: 238
Drymarchon margaritae — WALLACH et al. 2014: 245 
DistributionW Margarita Islands, Venezuela;

Type locality: Near San Francisco de Macanao, Isla Margarita, Venezuela.  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: MHNLS 569, a 1300 mm male (lA. Roze, 18 Dec. 1951). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: La nueva especie se diferencia d.e Drymatchon corais corais (1) por tener las escamas internasales más largas que la pre-frontal, (2) por tener todo el cuerpo casi negro, como también la parte posterior del vientre y la cola, y (3) probablemente, menor número de escamas ventrales.
Además posee, 17-17-15 dorsales, 196 ventrales y 76 subcaudales (Roze 1959).

La coloraciön: la cabeza y todo el cuerpo negro arriba con algunas bandas parduscas transversales, muy irregulares, sobre la parte posterior del cuerpo. Las supralabiales y la parte inferior de la cabeza, blancas, eon los bordes de las escamas gris-negruzcas. Las primeras ventrales, blancas, con manchas neg'ruzcas apicales irregulares que, hacia la parte posterior del cuerpo, se expanden gradualmente, hasta que eI color gris oscuro hasta negruzco cubre casi todo el vientre. Las subcaudales son negras con manchas ocasionales claras (Roze 1959).

DEFINITION. A subspecies described from one adult male which has a black dorsum throughout the length of the body, with irregular brownish transverse bands posteriorly and a venter that is whitish anteriorly, with blackish irregular blotches which toward the posterior portion expand gradually until the posterior ventrals and the subcaudals are black with some light spots. The scale rows at the vent are 15. The specimen has 196 ventrals and 76 subcaudals. (McCranie 1980) 
CommentConservation: Drymarchon corais margaritae is only known from 2 specimens.

D. margaritae displays a unique combination of pattern characters, including a dorsal colour change similar to that of D. corais (dark anteriorly, paler markings posteriorly), but a ventral pattern change more akin to that of D. melanurus (darker posteriorly, compared to uniformly pale throughout in D. corais). The only known specimen has 76 subcaudals, compared to a documented maximum of 64.5 in D. caudomaculatus. In the light of these clear, categorical differences, and pending further studies, WÜSTER et al. (2001) consider this form to be a separate species, D. margaritae, as originally proposed by Roze (1959). 
EtymologyNamed after the type locality. 
References
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