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Erythrolamprus epinephalus (COPE, 1862)

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesErythrolamprus epinephalus bimaculatus (COPE 1899)
Erythrolamprus epinephalus epinephalus (COPE 1862)
Erythrolamprus epinephalus juvenalis (DUNN 1937)
Erythrolamprus epinephalus kogiorum (BERNAL-CARLO 1994)
Erythrolamprus epinephalus opisthotaenius (BOULENGER 1908)
Erythrolamprus epinephalus pseudocobella (PERACCA 1914) 
Common Namesalbiventris: S: Culebra boba verde 
SynonymLiophis epinephalus COPE 1862: 78
Liophis epinephelus — BOULENGER 1894 (in error fide SAVAGE 2000: 581)
Leimadophis epinephelus — AMARAL 1929: 165
Leimadophis epinephelus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 143
Liophis epinephelus — KORNACKER 1999: 104
Liophis epinephalus — SAVAGE 2000: 580
Liophis epinephalus — SOLORZANO 2004
Erythrolamprus epinephelus — GRAZZIOTIN et al. 2012
Liophis epinephelus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 381
Liophis epinephelus — RAY & RUBACK 2015

Erythrolamprus epinephalus bimaculatus (COPE 1899)
Liophis bimaculatus COPE 1899: 11
Liophis bipraeocularis BOULENGER 1903: 351
Leimadophis bimaculatus bimaculatus — DUNN 1944: 484
Leimadophis taeniurus bipraeocularis — BEEBE 1946: 30
Liophis epinephelus ecuadoriensis LAURENT 1949
Leimadophis epinephelus ecuadoriensis LAURENT 1949: 8
Leimadophis bimaculatus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 143
Leimadophis epinephelus ecuadoriensis — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970
Liophis epinephelus bimaculatus — VANZOLINI in PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1986
Liophis epinephelus bimaculatus — ROJAS-MORALES 2012
Erythrolamprus epinephelus bimaculatus — ESCALONA 2017

Erythrolamprus epinephalus kogiorum (BERNAL-CARLO 1994)
Liophis epinephelus kogiorum BERNAL-CARLO 1994
Liophis miliaris kogiorum — DIXON 2000 (in error ?)
Liophis epinephelus kogiorum — ROJAS-RUNJAIC et al. 2007

Erythrolamprus epinephalus juvenalis (DUNN 1937)
Leimadophis taeniurus juvenalis DUNN 1937: 213
Leimadophis taeniurus juvenalis — SLEVIN 1942: 473
Leimadophis epinephelus juvenalis — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970

Erythrolamprus epinephalus opisthotaenius (BOULENGER 1908)
Liophis opisthotaenia BOULENGER 1908: 114
Liophis epinephelus opisthotaenius — ESQUEDA et al. 2007

Erythrolamprus epinephalus pseudocobella (PERACCA 1914)
Liophis pseudocobella PERACCA 1914: 99
Leimadophis pseudocobella — AMARAL 1929: 167
Liophis cobella alticolus AMARAL 1931: 87
Leimadophis pseudocobella — DUNN 1944: 484
Leimadophis pseudocobella — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 148
Liophis epinephelus pseudocobella — DIXON 1983
Liophis epinephelus pseudocobella — ROJAS-MORALES 2012 
DistributionCosta Rica, Panama, Colombia (incl. Valle del Cauca), Venezuela, NW Ecuador, Peru

epinephalus: Colombia (New Granada); Type locality: New Granada (Colombia), Truando.

bimaculatus: Colombia, Venezuela (Mérida, Táchira), Ecuador; Type locality: Colombia. “Presumably from the vicinity of Bogotá” fide DUNN 1944: 484

juvenalis: Costa Rica; Type locality: San Jose, Costa Rica.

kogiorum: Colombia (Magdalena), Venezuela (Zulia); Type locality: Ciudad Perdida,Sierra Nevadade Santa Marta, Departamento de Magdalena, Colombia, 1100 m elevation.

opisthotaenius: Venezuela (Merida, Barinas, Táchira, Trujillo, Zulia, Falcón) [HR 33: 68], Colombia (Paramo de Tama).

pseudocobella: W Colombia (Andes), Ecuador; Type locality: Angelópolis, Colombia  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 3688
Holotype: IBSP 5312, paratype: IBSP 5313 [Liophis cobella alticolus]
Syntypes: unlocated, reported to be PCM 29 or 42 (Philadelphia Commercial Museum) (5 specimens), not in ANSP fide M. Sabaj and N. Gilmore, pers. comm., 21 May 2019 [bimaculatus]
Holotype: ANSP 3687 [juvenalis]
Holotype: MRSN (also as MSNTO) R1512 [pseudocobella]
Holotype: IAvH 3230 (formerly IND 3230), adult male [kogiorum]
Syntypes: BMNH 1908.5.29.146-147, MCZ 51329 [opisthotaenius] 
Diagnosis 
CommentSynonymy: partly after PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 and updated following DIXON 1983 and VANZOLINI 1986. Cope corrected the name in an erratum sheet to “epinephelus”. However, Savage 2000: 581 considers the original epinephalus as correct. Torres-Carvajal & Hinojosa 2020 argued that epinephelus is correct though. Roze 1958 listed Leimadophis bimaculatus opisthotaenia as a synonym of Urotheca williamsi (see comment in this species).

Distribution: The snakes from Costa Rica (Bebedero, Guanacaste Province, and Irazu, Cartago Province) that Wettstein (1934) identified as Liophis cobella are examples of L. epinephalus (Savage 2000: 581).

Subspecies: Liophis epinephelus kogiorum BERNAL-CARLO 1994 has been listed as Liophis miliaris kogiorum by DIXON 2000 but without justification (maybe in error?). Erythrolamprus epinephalus albiventris, fraseri, and lamonae have been elevated to full species status by Torres-Carvajal et al. 2020.

Variation: Dixon 1983 confirms the position of Wilson and Brown (1953) and Savage and Heyer (1967) that using subspecies is not an effective way to describe geographic variation in this species.

Scalation: The type has 133 ventrals. Dunn 1944 has counted from 132-141 in Colombian specimens. Records attributable to this form would increase the range of ventral count to 126-144. The average ventral count of 13 specimens is 136. Males have 50-68 caudals; females have 52-56.
In pseudocobella, Dunn 1944 found ventrals ranging from 140-148.The caudals in males are 45-52; in females 50-57.
In bimaculatus, the ventral average of 30 specimens is 173, with a range of 165-182. The single Aguadita specimen has 153.The caudals of males are only slightly more numerous than those of females (males 60-77, av. of 12 is 68.4; females 60-68, av. of 12 is 63.9). About 1/4 of the specimens have seven upper labials; the rest have eight. About 1/3 of the specimens have two preoculars; the rest have one 9Dunn 1944: 483-485). 
EtymologyNamed after Greek epi- (ἐπί), upon, on, over + Greek nephela (νεφέλη), a cloud. [?]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024) 
References
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