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Cemophora coccinea (BLUMENBACH, 1788)

IUCN Red List - Cemophora coccinea - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Lampropeltini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesCemophora coccinea coccinea (BLUMENBACH 1788)
Cemophora coccinea copei JAN 1863 
Common NamesE: Scarlet Snake
coccinea: Florida Scarlet Snake
copei: Northern Scarlet Snake
lineri: Texas Scarlet Snake
G: Scharlachnatter 
SynonymColuber coccineus BLUMENBACH 1788: 11
Coluber dumfrisiensis SOWERBY 1804
Elaps coccineus — MERREM 1820: 145
Heterodon coccineus — SCHLEGEL 1837: 141
Coronella coccinea — SCHLEGEL 1837: 67 (fide COPE 1900: 896)
Natrix dumfrisiensis — FLEMING 1828
Coluber dumfrisiensis — BELL 1839
Coronella coccinea — DE FILIPPI 1840: 177
Heterodon coccineus — DE FILIPPI 1840: 182
Rhinostoma coccineus — HOLBROOK 1842: 125
Simotes coccineus — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 637
Cemophora coccinea — COPE 1860: 244
Cemophora coccinea — JAN 1865
Coronella coccinea — JAN 1866
Ophiobolus doliatus — GARNIER 1894
Cemophora coccinea — COPE 1900: 928
Cemophora coccinea — ALLEN 1932
Cemophora doliata — SMITH 1952: 26
Cemophora doliata coccinea — MITTLEMAN 1952: 25
Cemophora coccinea — CARR 1976: 139
Cemophora coccinea — WILLIAMS 1985
Cemophora coccinea — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 213
Cemophora coccinea — CROTHER 2000: 57
Cemophora coccinea — CROTHER et al. 2012
Cemophora coccinea — WALLACH et al. 2014: 152

Cemophora coccinea coccinea (BLUMENBACH, 1788)
Cemophora coccinea coccinea — CROTHER 2000: 57
Cemophora coccinea coccinea — CROTHER et al. 2012

Cemophora coccinea copei JAN 1863: 231
Cemophora Copei — JAN 1865
Cemophora coccinea copei — PALMER & BRASWELL 1995
Cemophora coccinea copei — CROTHER 2000: 57
Cemophora coccinea copei — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 450
Cemophora coccinea copei — CROTHER et al. 2012
Cemophora coccinea copei — ZAPPALORTI 2012
Cemophora coccinea copei — WEINELL & AUSTIN 2017
Cemophora coccinea copei — GUYER et al. 2018 
DistributionUSA (S/E Texas, E Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey; disjunct populations in S Texas, New Jesey, and C Missouri)

coccinea: USA (peninsular Florida); Type locality: Florida.

copei: USA (rest of range, incl. Alabama)

dumfrisiensis: Type locality: Dumfrieshire (ierror, see comment); designated as Charleston, South Carolina, by K.P. Schmidt 1954.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: lost, originally ZMG, but lost fide Williams and Wilson, 1967: 112, Williams 1985, Wallach et al. 2014.
Holotype: MHNG 524.74 [copei] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): “Cemophora is a small to medium-sized snake with a maximum known length of 823 mm. The rostral is enlarged and projects beyond the lower jaw. Supralabials are usually 6-7. Infralabials are usually 7, occasionally 8 or 9. The last two maxillary teeth are distinctly enlarged and saber-like. Dorsal scales are smooth with two apical pits, usually in 19 rows throughout. Ventrals range from 149 to 195. Subcaudals are in two rows, 31-50 in number. The anal plate is entire. The dorsal pattern consists of red saddles (12-28 on body) bordered by black, between which are white or pale yellow interspaces. The venter is immaculate cream. The black band on the head varies in position from the middle of the frontal to the middle of the parietals; the rest of the head is red. The hemipenis is bilobed with a single sulcus spermaticus extending onto the lateral lobe. The proximal area is naked. Distally a spinose area grades into a calyculate area that extends to the apex of the organ. Micro-ornamentation of the calyces is papillate. The area between the lobes is naked. No apical differentiation is present.
Cemophora may be distinguished from other colubrid genera in the Western Hemisphere by the following combination of characteristics: hemipenial shape and ornamentation, color pattern, enlarged rostral, scales in 19 rows at midbody; two apical pits, anal plate entire; and last two maxillary teeth distinctly enlarged and saber-like.” (Williams 1985)


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CommentSubspecies: Cemophora coccinea lineri has been elevated to full species by Weinell & Austin 2017.

The date of publication was BLUMENBACH 1786 fide DUMÉRIL et al. 1854.

Type species: Coluber coccineus BLUMENBACH 1788: 11 is the type species of the genus Cemophora COPE 1860.

Synonyms: dumfriesiensis: originally reported (erroneously) from Dumfrieshire, Scotland. Synonym of C. coccinea fide K. P. Schmidt 1954. Selected other synonyms from Wallach et al. 2014: 152. Cope 1900 gave Schlegel 1837 as author of the species.

Phylogenetics: see Dahn et al. 2018 for a phylogeny of Lampropeltini. 
EtymologyThe species name “coccineus” means scarlet red, from Greek “coccos” = fruit seed or berry seed, being red or otherwise.

The genus was named after the Greek words cemos (meaning muzzle, mouth, snout) and phero, phoros (meaning carrying, bearing) and alludes to the pronounced rostral scale. The gender is feminine. 
References
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