Diagnosis | DESCRIPTION (including bucculentus, dysodes, ericksoni): Maximum total length 1057 mm; dorsal scale rows at midbody 25, 27, 28, or 29; dorsals from heavily keeled to not at all; middorsal row greatly widened, bicarinate on posterior fifth of body to level of vent; ventrals 183-217; subcaudals 29-39; supralabials 9-10/9-10; infralabials 11-14/11-14; preoculars usually 1/1; postoculars usually 3/3. Dorsal ground color tan, grayish tan, ashy gray, buff, dark brown, or reddish; dorsal pattern variable: (1) 4 conspicuous longitudinal lines, with or without dorsal blotches (usually 2 scales in length), lateral margins of dorsal blotches edged cream or white, conspicuous cephalic figure (T. m. melanurus, T. m. bucculentus); (2) zigzag or staggered dorsal blotches usually dark and prominent on lighter ground color (usually 3-4 scales long and bordered laterally by white or cream mark or line), median dark brown line beginning on neck and extending to vent (involving median and 2 paramedian scale rows), 2 other dark lines (on scale rows 10-11 and 6-7) begin anteriorly as dark line from naris through eye and across temporal area and continuing to base of tail, dark blotch on snout, head with well-defined, dark, cephalic pattern, supralabials clouded with brown, infralabials with discrete, black blotches (T. m. ericksoni); (3) orange-margined, dark dorsal blotches 3-5 scales wide (not in sharp contrast to dark brown ground color) in zigzag or staggered arrangement, dorsum with series of longitudinal lines, dark, rectangular, cephalic figure, supralabials suffused with dark brown, infralabials dotted with light and dark brown (T. m. dysodes); tail tip light or dark; venter buffy with irregular to dark brown blotches (especially prominent on posterior fifth of belly), or ventrals always clouded and stippled with brown having little or no distinct spotting, or heavy spotting on posterior third of venter and underside of tail (Schwartz & Henderson 1991: 638). |
References |
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