Oxybelis koehleri JADIN, BLAIR, ORLOFSKE, JOWERS, RIVAS, VITT, RAY, SMITH & MURPHY, 2020
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Oxybelis koehleri
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Köhler’s Vine Snake |
| Synonym | Oxybelis koehleri JADIN, BLAIR, ORLOFSKE, JOWERS, RIVAS, VITT, RAY, SMITH & MURPHY 2020 Oxybelis aeneus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 819 Dryophis acuminata – GÜNTHER 1858: 156 (part) Dryophis (Coluber) acuminatus — GÜNTHER 1860: 233 (part) Dryiophis acuminata — COPE 1878: 34 Oxybelis acuminata – BOULENGER 1896: 192 Oxybelis acuminatus — BOCOURT 1897 Oxybelis acuminatus — BARBOUR 1916 Oxybelis acuminatus — STUART 1935: 53 Oxybelis aeneus aeneus – BOGERT & OLIVER 1945: 381 Oxybelis aeneus – KEISER 1974: 7 Oxybelis koehleri — MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA et al. 2024 |
| Distribution | Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica Type locality: Guatemala: El Arenal (circa 560 m, 14° 53′ 1.788′′ N, 89° 46′ 31.799′′ W) of the Municipio Cabañas in the Department of Zacapa |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: UTA R-46846 (ENS 9858), a female. Collected by a local between Feb and May 1998, preserved 24 Aug 1998. Paratypes: UTA R-44838 Nicaragua: Jinotega, El Paraiso Km 152.5, carretera Jinotega-Matagalpa, 1490 m; UTA R-46865 Honduras: Comayagua, Playitos: Aldea “Lo de Reina”, 785 m. UTA R-53176–77 Honduras: Gracias a Dios, Mocorón, 30–50 m. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A vine snake with (1) three upper labials (4–5–6) bordering the orbit; (2) black spots or bars on anterior body, brown uniform brown with little black pigment; (3) labials white and underside of head red–brown with a medial red–brown stripe in females; (4) eye diameter greater than preocular length; (5) second pair of chin shields in contact for most of their length; (6) nine upper labials, three located behind the orbit; (7) snout from above is narrow, tapered, and rounded (snout type A); (8) supraocular is longer than the prefrontal; (9) last upper labial and primary temporal about the same length; and (11) second upper labial does not contact the preocular. |
| Comment | Habitat: fully arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018, by implication). Distribution: While Jadin et al. 2020 say that the species occurs “from Guatemala to Costa Rica, their map (Fig. 3) doesn’t mention this species but only vaguely refers to “Central American” specimens, which actually do not reach Costa Rica but only N Honduras. Hence the range of this species remains a somewhat unclear. |
| Etymology | Named after Gunther Köhler, German herpetologist who has contributed greatly to the knowledge on the systematics and natural history of Central American amphibians and reptiles. |
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