Abstract
Philodryas laticeps Werner, 1900 was previously known only from the holotype, which was believed to be lost during the World Wars. We found the holotype to be housed in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin and here redescribe it and report on three additional specimens from the collections of the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo and Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. We conclude that Philodryas oligolepis Gomes, 1921 and P. affinis Müller, 1928 are junior synonyms of Philodryas laticeps Werner, 1900. All specimens share the presence of a black mucosa surrounding the larynx and trachea in the floor of the mouth and distal rows of middle sized spines disposed in a typical “V-shaped” configuration on the asulcate surface of the hemipenial body, two uniquely derived features absent in all other species of the genus Philodryas. Intraspecific variation of external morphology, hemipenes, and coloration are documented.References
Amaral, A. (1921) Últimos trabalhos inéditos de J. Florencio Gomes: Duas novas especies de Colubrideos opisthoglyphos brasileiros (Philodryas oligolepis e Apostolepis longicauda). Annaes Paulistas de Medicina e Cirurgia, 12 (7–8), 110–113.
Amaral, A. (1977) Serpentes do Brasil. Iconografia colorida. Edições Melhoramentos e Editora da Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil.
Barrio, A., Laurent, R.F. & Thomas, R.A. (1977) The status of Philodryas subcarinatus Boulenger (Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae). Journal of Herpetology, 11: 230–231.
Chippaux, J.P. (1986) Les serpents de la Guyane Française. Institute Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le développement en Coopération. Collection faune Tropicale n° XXVII. Paris.
Dowling, H.G. (1951) A proposed standard system of counting ventrals in snakes. British Journal of Herpetology, 1: 97–99.
Gasc, J.P. & Rodrigues, M.T. (1980) Liste préliminaire des serpents de Guyane Française. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, 4e. série, 2 A (2), 559–598.
Myers, C.W. (2003) Rare snakes – Five new species from Eastern Panama: Reviews of Northern Atractus and Southern Geophis (Colubridae: Dipsadinae). American Museum Novitates, 3391, 1–47.
Myers, C.W. & Cadle, J.E. (2003) On the snake hemipenis, with notes on Psomophis and techniques of eversion: a response to Dowling. Herpetological Review, 34 (4), 295–302.
Peters, J.A. & Orejas-Miranda, B. (1970) Catalogue of the Neotropical squamata. Part I. Snakes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Starace, F. (1998) Guide des serpents et Amphisbènes de Guyane. Ibis Rouge Editions.
Thomas, R.A. (1976) A revision of the South-American Colubrid snake genus Philodryas Wagler, 1830. University Microfilms International. Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
Thomas, R.A. (1977) A new generic arrangement for Incaspis and mainland South American alsophis and the status of two additional Peruvian species. Copeia, 1977 (4), 648–652.
Thomas, R.A. (1997) Galápagos terrestrial snakes: biogeography and systematics. Herpetological Natural History, 5 (1), 19–40.
Thomas, R.A., Laurent, R.F. & Barrio, A. (1977) Philodryas borellii Peracca (Serpentes: Colubridae), a distinct species. Herpetologica 33, 82–86.
Thomas, R.A. & Johnson, J.D. (1984) Philodryas varius (Jan, 1863), a senior synonym of Philodryas borellii Peracca (Serpentes: Colubridae). Journal of Herpetology, 18 (1), 80.
Thomas, R.A. & Fernandes, R. (1996) The systematic status of Platyinion lividum Amaral, 1923 (Serpentes: Colubridae: Xenodontinae). Herpetologica, 52 (2), 271–275.
Uetz, P., Goll, J. & Hallermann, J. (2008) The Reptile Database, http://www.reptile-database.org, accessed August 02, 2008.
Zaher, H. (1999) Hemipenial morphology of the South American snakes, with a proposal for a monophyletic Xenodontinae and a reappraisal of Colubroid hemipenes. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 240, 1–168.
Zaher, H. & Prudente, A.L.C. (2003) Hemipenis of Siphlophis (Serpentes: Xenodontinae) and techniques of hemipenial preparation in snakes: A response to Dowling. Herpetological Review, 34, 302–307.