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The Herpetological Journal Volume 3, Number 2 April 1993 ISSN 0268-0130 THE HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL Published by Indexed in THE BRITISH HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY Current Contents 70 SHORT NOTES HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Vol. 3. pp. 70-71 ( 1993) D. rhombifer D. melw10tropi.1· MR309 AN ABERRANT SPECIMEN OF Ventrals 145- 169 149- 163 156 DRYMO BIUS RHOMBIFER (COLUBRIDAE: COLUBRINAE) : A Subcaudals 84- 103 91-108 91 NEW GENERIC RECORD FOR Maxillary teeth 30-32 33-34 34 BRAZIL ' 2 TABLE I. Ventral and subcaudal scale counts for MR309 compared MARK T. O'SHEA ' AND ANDREW F. STIMSON with those obtained from two specimens of D. melan01ropis. seven specimens of D. rhomhife r and available literature. 146 Buckingham Road. Penn, Wo/1•erha111p1on, WV4 5TJ, UK 'Depanmenl <�{Zoology, Nalural History Museum, Cronnl'el! Road, London SW7 5BD, UK * A111hor fo r correspondence (Accep1ed 2. 7.92) The neotropical colubrid genus Drymobius contains four species of 'racer-type' snakes closely related to the neotropical genera Dendrophidion, Mastigodryas and Drymoluber (Stuart, 1932). Three species, Drymobius margaritiferus, D. chloroticus and D. melanotropis are Cen­ tral American in their distribution (Wilson, 1970: I 975a-d; Villa, Wilson & Johnson, 1988), although D. margaritife rus has also been recorded from the Caribbean coast of Colombia (Perez-Santos & Moreno, 1988). D. rhombifer is primarily a South American species, occurring to the north and west of Amazonia in a Caribbean and Pacific coastal belt extending from French Guiana (Chippaux, 1986) and Venezuela to Ec­ uador, Peru and Bolivia (Vaeth & Rossman, 1984), on either side of the Andes (Perez-Santos & Moreno 1991), and into Central America as far as Nicaragua (Villa, 1983). Fig. 1. Dorsal and lateral views of head of MR309 (S. Elmhurst). The first author was conducting a herpetofaunal survey as part of the intensive Anglo-Brazilian, multi-disciplinary, eco­ The high maxillary tooth count and the uniform dorsal col­ logical Maraca Rainforest Project (lnstituto Nacional de oration of MR309 resemble the Central American D. Pesquisas da Amaz6nia; Royal Geographical Society) on the melanotropis but MR309 lacks the black scale keels usually !Iha de Maraca, a forested riverine island on the Rio reported for that species and the presence of a specimen of D. Uraricoera, 130 km northwest of Boa Vista, Roraima, north­ melanutropis on Maraca would indicate a range extention of ern Brazil (O'Shea, 1989). A single specimen of Drymobius approximately 1800 km. It seems more likely that MR309 was collected on a trail through terra-firme forest near the represents an aberrant specimen of D. rhombifer, the first Cachoeira Fuma<;aon the northern Furo de Santa Rosa chan­ record of the genus from Brazil, since uniform, unblotched nel of the Rio Uraricoera towards the western end of the specimens of D. rhombifer, although rare, are not unknown I 00,000 hectare riverine island. Maraca specimen (field no. (Dixon & Saini, 1977). MR309): fe male; 740 mm SVL + 290 mm TL; dorsals (keeled) 19-17-15 rows; ventrals 156; subcaudals 91 (paired); Material examined: D. melanotropis : UMMZ 79762 (7mi. anal plate divided; supralabials 9 (with 4th, 5th and 6th in above Rama, Rio Signia, Nicaragua); UMMZ 131309 contact with the orbit, 4th divided by a horizontal suture on (Zapote, Guancaste, Costa Rica); D. rhombife r : MNHN both sides); infralabials I 0 (with five in contact with first pair 1897-4 (French Guiana); BMNH 74.8.4.24 & 30 of chin shields); preocular I; postoculars 2; temporals 2+2 (Moyobamba, Peru); BMNH 97.11.12.9 (Medellin, Colom­ (left), 1+2 (right); maxillary teeth 34 (Table I). Dorsal colora­ bia); BMNH 98.4.28.58 (Paramba, Ecuador); BMNH tion olive green to brown with patterning confined to 1909.4.30.67-68 (Bitaco, S.W. Colombia). MR309 will be scattered black speckling; ventrally off-white with two longi­ deposited in the Museum of Zoology, University of Sao Paulo tudinal ventrolateral rows of black spots. (MZUSP). Although the ventral and subcaudal scale counts of MR309 Acknowledgements. The first author thanks William Milliken (a fe male) complied with those of typical D. rhombifer (Ta­ and other members of the Maraca Rainforest Project for as­ ble I) the characteristeric rhomboid patterning on the dorsum sistance in collecting specimens. the Royal Geographical was absent. The head of MR309 also appeared much narrower Society, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaz6nia and than that of other specimens of D. rhombifer examined. The Secretaria Especial do Meio Ambiente for logistical support only other Drymobius sp. with similar scale counts is D. in the field and the Royal Society and Percy Sladen Memorial melanotropis from Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Fund for project funding. We both thank the following cura- SHORT NOTES 71 tors and their institutions for the Joan of specimens from their Stuart L. C. I 1932). Studies on Ncotropical Colubri n ae . I. The collections: Ivan Jneich. Museum National d'Historie taxonomic status of t he genus /Jnw11hi11s Fit zi nger. Off. Pu/>. Naturelle. Paris; Ronald A. Nussbaum and Greg: Schneider. M11s. Zoo/.. Unil'. Mick 236. 1 - 1 6. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Samantha Vaeth R. H. & Rossman D. A. ( 1984 ). /Jrrn111/iius rhoml>if(·r. Elmhurst kindly drew the figure. Geographical Distribu tion. HC'l"petol. Rei·. 15 (.\). 78. Villa J. ( 1983) Nirnrng111111 .fishes. umphibi1111s und rl'/>!iles: checklist und hi/Jliogrnp/n·. M an ag a Univ. Centroamericana. REFERENCES u 53pp. Chippaux P. ( 1986). Les Serprn1.1· de C11H111e firn1ruise. Fauna J. lu Villa J.. Wilson L. D. & Johnson J. D. (1988 ).Midd!e A111erirn11 Tropical XXVll. ORSTOM. I 65 pp. Herpeto/ogr: A Bih/iogrnphic Check!ist. U niv . Missouri Press. 131pp. Dixon J. R. & Soini P. ( 1977). Reptiles of the Upper A mazon Basin. lquitos Region. Peru. II. Crocodilians. turtles and snakes. Wilson L. D. ( 1970). A review of the chlorotirn.1 group of the Milirn11kee P11b. M11s. Contrib. Biol. Ceo/. 12. 1-91 colubrid snake genus Drrnwhius. with notes on a twin-striped form of D. ch/orotirns (Cope) from southern Mexico. J. o· Shea M. T. ( 1989). The Herpetofauna of llha de Maraca, State of Herpet. 4. 155- 163. Roraima, Northern Brazil. In Reptiles: Proceedinf<.\ of"the 1988 Wilson L. D. ( J 975a). Dn'/llobius. Cut. Amer. Amph. Rep!. 170. U. K. Herpetologicul Societies Sy111posi11111 011 Captive & 1-2. Breedinf<, 51-72. Coote, J. (ed.). London: British Herpetological Society. Wilson L. D. ( J 975b). Drrn10bi11.1· chlorotirns. Cm. Amer. Amph. & Rept. 171, I. Perez-Santos C. & Moreno A. G. ( 1988). Ofidos de Colombia. Mus. Regionale Sci. Nat. Torino Monografia VI. 5 I 7pp. Wilson L. D. (I975c). Drrmobiu.1· margaritif"ems. Cat. Amer. Amph. & Rep!. 172, 1-2. Perez-Santos C. & Moreno A. G. ( 1991) . Serpie111es de Ecuador. Wilson L. D. (I975d). Drrmobi11.1· melwwtropis. Cat. Amer. Amph. Mus. Regionale Sci. Nat. Torino Monografia XI. 538pp. & Rept. 173, I. .
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