520.1 REFl'ILW: SQUAMATA: SERPl3WX.S: COLUBRIDAE DENDROPHIDION NU- Catalogue of American Amphibians and ReptUes. P. Lieb, C.S. 1991. Dendrophidion nuchak Dendrophidion nscchak W. Peters) Black-napedForest Racer

Heperodryar nucbalis W. Peters, 1864:285. Type-locality, "Caracas, [Venezuela]." Syntypes (2), Zoologisches Museum, Berlin, now lost, collected by Goher (not examined by author). Neotype (designated by Lieb, 1988), National Museumof Natural History (USNM) 129579, adult male, colleaed by JA. Amberson, E. Schwarzand H. K. Schwarz, ZOJuly 1950,at Camp Rafael l7ange1, kagua Prov., Venezuela (examined by author). mbiusdendrophis (part): Boulenger, 1894:15. Dendrophidion clarkiiDum, 193578. Type-locality, "EIValledeAn- ton, Panama." Holotype, Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) 34878, adult male, collected by E.R. Durn, August, 1932 (not examined by author). Dendropbidion nuchalis: Lieb, 1988:166. Dendropbidion nuchak: See Etymology.

Content. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Deflnltion. Dendropbidion nucbak is a large species of Dendrophidion reaching a maximum known total length of about 153 un. The species is characterized by 17 dorsal scale rows M~~.solid &de represents type locality of neoF/pe, and open anteriorly and 15 posteriorly. All rows are keeled at midbody in &des indicate other localities. The approximate geognphic rvlge adults, except in Venezuelan populations, where the first row is is ,geest& by the shaded area;some of the apparent discontinuities scales smooth. The ventral range from 153-175,subcaudals from 132- may an mifact of in&dequate sunpling. 163. The doad scute may be divided or entire. The dorsocaudal scale row reduction from eight to six scales occurs between medial margins of the ventral scales in adults. The anterior donum subcaudals 28-71. The hemipenes are equipped with two to four has narrow, faint crosslines or is patternless; the posterior dorsum is large, basal spines. often boldly marked with pale ocdior crossbands endosing ocelli. The groud color of the donum typically changes from green, The tail may be patterned as is the posterior dorsum or may be n gay, or brown anteriorly to dark gray, brown, or black posteriorly; uniform the dorsal surface of tail may be light tan or reddish. The venter is white or yellow, with suffusions of dark pigment on the lateral and Diagnosis. Dendropbidion nucbalemy be distinguished

- - p~ Figure. Adult Dendropbidion nuchakfrom Caj6n &palmar Norte, Puntarenas Prov., Costa Rica. Photograph by R. W. Van Devender. from all other members of the genus by its dark nuchal collar, and in synonomy of Dendrophidion dendrophis, and beause of the no- northerncentral America, by a reddish-brown tail that contrasts with mendatud confusion over the identitiesof named taxa in the genus, the ground coloration of the body. Additional diagnostic character designated a neotype to replace the apparently Iwt syntyp of states, shared with at least one other congener (nominal taxa in Herpefodym nucbalir. parentheses), include: dorsocaudal scale row reduction from eight to six rows occurring posterior to subcaudal 29 (D. dendmphis, D. Literature Cited uinifor); and suffusions of dark pigment along the margins of ventral scales in adults (D. brunneum, D. pamicarinaturn). Aleman, G. 1953. Contribuci6n al estudio de lw reptiles y batracios dela Sierra dePerijfi. Mem Soc. Cienc. Nat. La Sde,Caracas 13: Descfiptbns. An overall description and table of variation 205-225. for the species is in Lieb (1 988). Descriptive data on other specimens Boulenger, Gh. 1894. Catalogue of thesnakes in the British Museum are reported in the following: Peters (1863, description of (Natural History). Vol. 2. London Hepetodryar nucbalir); Dunn (1933, holotype of Dendrophidion Daniel, H. 1949. Las serpientes en Colombi. Rev. Pac. Nac. Agron clarki0; Dunn (1944, as D. psnarinatus, in part); Roze (1952, as D. Medellin 9301-333. dendropbi); Aleman (1953, as D. dsndropbir); Roze (1959, as D. Dunn, E.R. 1933. Amphibians andreptiles fromEl VakdeAnton, Pa- percasiMhrc>;Testet al. (1966, as D.penarinatus); Wison(1966, as nama. Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8:65-79. D. vinifor); McCoy (1970, as D. uinitor); Lancini (1979, as D. -1944. The snake genus Dendrophidion in Colombia. Caldasia psnarinatus); and Wion and Meyer (1985, as D. chrki). 2475477. Henderson, R.W. and L.G. Hoevers. 1975. A checklist and key to the Jllustratioas. A color photograph of the this species appears amphibians and reptiles of Belize, Central Ameria. Milwaukee inRoze (1970,-. as D. marinatus):.. a black-and-white .~hotonra~hof -. Publ. Mus. Contrib. Biol. Geol. (5):l-63. the neotype is in Lieb (1988). Lancini, VA.R 1979. Serpientes de Venezuela. Grgicas Armitano, Caracas. Distribution. Dendrophidion nucbak is distributed Lieb, C.S. 1988. Systematic status of the Neotropial snakes Dendro- disjunctly through lowland and prernontane rainforest areas (and pbidion dendrophis and D. nuchali (Colubridae). Herpetole associated remnants) in Centnl America and northeastem and north- gia 44:162-175. western South Ameria over an elevational range of 125-1500 rn The McCoy, C.J. 1970. The snake fauna of Middlesex, British Honduras. J. northernCentralAmerica distributionis represented by widely sepa- Herpetol. 4135-140. rated localities in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. In lower Cemal Peters,JA. andB. Orq'as-Mi&. 1970. CatalogueoftheNeotropiul America, populations west of the Isthmus of Pdare for the most Squmata: Part I. Snakes. Bull U.S. Natl. Mus. (297)viii + 347 p. part restricted toupland areas, andextendtonorthientral Costa Rica; Peters, W. 1863. Ueber einige neue oder weniger bekannte Schlang- the species is found east of the Isthmus in lowland and inland regions enarten des zoologischen Museums zu Berlin. Monatsber. from the Darien south into the Choc6 of Colombia and adjacent Kong. Akad. Wi. Berlin 1865285-286. Ecuador. Disjunct from these populations are those in the Cordillera Roze, JA. 1952. Colecci6n de reptiles del Professor Scorza, de Vene- de la Costa and associated ranges in northern Venezuela. zuela. Adl Biol. Venezuela 193-114. -1959. Taxonomic notes on a collection of Venezuelan reptiles Fossil Record. None. in the American Museum of Natural History. Amer. Mus. Novit. (193):l-14. Pertinent JJteratum. Notes on food habits and distribution -1966. La. taxonornia y zoogeografm de 10s ofidias de Venezuela. inVenezuela are Roze (1952, as D. dsndrophk) and Lancini (1979, as Ediciones Bibliotea Univ. Central de Venezuela, Caracas. D. percurinaturn). Prior the review of variation, distribution, and -1970. Cienciay fantasiasobrelas serpientes devenezuela. Fon- relationships by Lieb (1988), and by his premature advice (in litt.), do Cultura Cientifica, S.R.L., Caracas. three regional treatments utilized the name D. clarki (sic) for this Savage, J.M. and J. Via R 1986. Introduction to the herpetofauna of species (Henderson and Hoevers, 1975; Wion and Meyer, 1982, Costa Ria. Soc. Study Amphib. Rept. Contr. Herp. (3):vii + 207 1985). Subsequent literature using D. nuchalk includes the abbre- P. viated checklist of Wion(1983), the checklist and key in Savage and Test, F.H., O.J. Sexton, and H. Heatwole. 1966. Reptiles of Rancho Via (1986), and the bibliographic compliation of Via et al. (1988). Grande and vicinity, Estado Aragua, Venezuela. Misc. Publ. Mus. 2001. Univ. Michigan (128):l-98. Etymology. The original name nuchalkis an adjectival form Vanzolini, P.E. 1986. Addenda and corrigenda to the catalogue of Ne- of the Middle Latin noun nucba(nape) formed by the addition of the otropial Squamata. Smithsonian Herp. Info. Serv. (70): 1-25. Latin suffix -ali ('pertaining tom).-The describer may have been Villa, J., L.D. Wilson, and J.D. Johnson. 1988. Middle American her- intending to draw anention to the characteristic dark brown or black petology: a bibiiognphic checklist. Univ. Missouri Press, Co- nuchid collar of this species. Used here for the first time, the ending lumbii. -eis appropriate for a Group B adjective in agreement with the neuter Wilson, LD. 1966. Dendmpbidion uinitor: an addition to the snake generic name. fauna of British Honduras. J. Ohio Herpetol. Soc. 5:103. -1983. Update on the list of amphibians and reptiles known from Commemt. Dendropbidion nucbakhaslong beenconfused Honduras. Herpetol. Review 14125-126. with D. percarik&m Cope, a mostly lower Central American and -andJ.R Meyer. 1982.Thesnakes of Honduras. MilwaukeePubl. Chocoan species with nearly congruent ventral and subcaudal sale Mus. Conuib. Biol. Geol. (6):l-59. variation. Many, but not all, literaturereferences to the laner species -and -. 1985. The snakes of Honduras. 2nd ed. Milwaukee (e.g, Durn, 1944; Daniel, 1949; Roze, 1966,1970) pertain in whole or Public Mus., Milwaukee. in part to D. nuchale. Whereas Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970) recognized Carl S. Laboratory for Environmental Biology, University of Dendrophidion chrkii Durn as a valid species, they did not realize neb, Texas at El Paso, El Pam, Texas, 79%8-0519. the extent of the its South American distribution, nor that the earlier name nucbalis (considered a junior synonym of Dendmpbidion Priqeditor for this account, Lvry David Wilson dendrqpbir) was thus applicable. Moreover, because of theundetec- ted variation in color panem and anal satecondition, their identifi- Published 15 Oaober 1991 and Copyright O 1991 by the Society for cation key to members of the genus is seriously flawed (as suggested the Studv of AmDhibivls and Reotiles. by Vanzolini, 1986). Lieb (1988) resurrected this species from the