Dendrophidion rufiterminorum CADLE & SAVAGE, 2012
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Dendrophidion rufiterminorum
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Dendrophidion rufiterminorum CADLE & SAVAGE 2012 Dendrophidion nuchale — CAMPBELL 1998 Dendrophidion rufiterminorum — WALLACH et al. 2014: 226 Dendrophidion rufiterminorum — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023 |
| Distribution | Belize, Guatemala, N Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica Type locality: 1 mi W Baldy Sibun, Cayo district, Belize [17°00’ N, 88°46’ W] |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: LSUM 8901, an adult male; (Figs. 15, 28). Collected 19 July 1963 by Stephen M. Russell and Angelo W. Palmisano (Wilson 1966). An attached field tag has field number “A. Palmisano 177” but LSUM collection ledgers record only Russell as the collector (Christopher Austin, personal communication). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Dendrophidion rufiterminorum is characterized by (1) Dorsocaudal reduction from 8 to 6 occurring posterior to subcaudal 45 (range, 46–79); (2) anal plate nearly always single (divided in 1 of 25 specimens); (3) subcaudal counts > 135 in males and females; (4) head and tail of adults reddish brown to bright red; tail strongly differentiated in color from posterior body and lacking crossbands or ocelli (indistinct crossbands on the anterior part of the tail sometimes present in small individuals); (5) blackish nuchal collar absent in adults and juveniles (Figs. 16, 17, 22A); (6) dorsal coloration in adults anteriorly olive, greenish brown, or brownish, grading to dark brown or blackish posteriorly; dark crossbands or transverse rows of ocelli evident except on the anterior body of adults; (7) central part of ventral scutes usually immaculate (lateral dark pigment is present but no transverse ventral lines) (Fig. 15); (8) total number of enlarged spines on the hemipenis relatively great (> 80); spines in the distal row uniform in size and numbering > 20. |
| Comment | Similar species: has been considered as D. dendrophis, D. clarkii, or D. nuchale previously. D. rufiterminorum differs from D. clarkii and D. nuchale in coloration and hemipenial characters but all three species of the nuchale complex are very similar in scutellation characters. Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). |
| Etymology | The species name rufiterminorum is a Latin noun in genitive case meaning “of reddish ends”, referring to the most salient and diagnostic color characteristic of this species, its red head and tail. It is a compound word derived from rufus (red or reddish) + terminus (end or limit), a second declension masculine noun in genitive plural form (terminorum) to reflect the fact that both ends are red. |
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