Oxybelis vittatus (GIRARD, 1854)
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Oxybelis vittatus
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Dryophis vittatus GIRARD 1854: 226 Dryinus aeneus – WAGLER 1824: 12 Oxybelis aeneus auratus – BOGERT & OLIVER 1945: 381 Oxybelis aeneus – KEISER 1974: 7 (part) Oxybelis vittatus — JADIN et al. 2020 |
| Distribution | Panama likely southward into the Chocoan region of Colombia auratus: Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua) Type locality: Taboga Island, Bay of Panama, Panama |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: USNM 7315 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A vine snake with (1) three upper labials (4–5–6) bordering the orbit; (2) black bars or spots present on the anterior body; (3) no stripes on the ventral surface; venter is mottled; (4) eye diameter greater than preocular; (5) second pair of chin shields separated by smaller scales for most of its length; (6) nine upper labials, three located behind the orbit; (7) snout from above narrow, tapered, and flat at rostral (snout type B); (8) supraocular slightly longer than prefrontals; (9) last upper labial longer than primary temporal; (10) lower surface of head uniform in color; and (11) second upper labial does not contact the preocular. Tail is 0.7 of the SVL; the eye diameter is 1.4 times the length of the preocular scale and 0.93 of the internasal length. Primary temporal contacts both postoculars, the parietal, and two secondary temporals. Upper labials 6–7–8–9 contact the primary temporal. Ventral counts in males 179–197 (n = 15, x = 188.8, SD = 9.00). In females, ventral counts ranged from 184 to 203 (n = 20, x = 192.1, SD = 9.54). Subcaudal counts 154–188 in males (n = 12, x = 169.5, SD = 17.16) and 146–184 (n = 15, x = 168.2, SD = 19.08) in females. It has 17–20 maxillary teeth (Keiser 1974, Jadin et al. 2020). |
| Comment | Synonymy: Oxybelis vittatus has been considered a synonym of O. aeneus but was resurrected by Jadin et al. 2020. However, the step seems a bit preliminary given that Jadin et al. had only 1 sample of O. aeneus with a known locality in their phylogeny. |
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