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TnK
at Fri Sep 14 00:59:51 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by TnK ]
Description.--- Male. Squamation: scale rows 53-75-37; ventrals 237; caudals 50; supralabials 22, separated from the suboculars by a series of scales; infralabials 23 on the right side, 24 on the left; 17 scales in the right ocular ring, 19 in the left. Anal spurs present. Dentition: mandibular teeth 18; maxillary 17; palatine 5; pterygoid 10. Coloration: ground color of both dorsum and belly uniformly heavily gray-speckled; dorsal series of 22 median spots on the body, 5 on the tail, the spots of the midbody region being saddle-shaped but each with a definite tapering process extending anteriorly in the vertebral line and another extending posteriorly; the dorsal spots connected by a dark dorso-lateral streak on either side, bearing each a pale elongate spot at the lateral edge; a series of alternating dark spots, usually with light centers, on the sides; posteriorly and on the tail the spots are larger and quadrangular in shape. Total length 495 mm.; tail length 51 mm. or 10.3 percent of the total. Variation.---The seven paratypes show the following variation: scale rows 53-61 at the neck, 71-79 in the middle of the body, 37-43 anterior to the vent; ventrals 226-237; caudals 43-52; supralabials 20-24; infralabials 23-27; oculars 15-20; anal spurs much smaller in females than in males; maxillary teeth 17-18; pterygoids 10-11; tail length from 8.3 to 13.8 percent of the total length, the largest specimen (field no. 9197) measuring 1570 mm. Remarks.---Of the eight specimens examined two have the mental shield as broad as long, three have it longer than broad, and three broader than long. This form is thus intermediate between C. c. constrictor and C. c. occidentalis in this character as well as geographically, and the latter should therefore be considered a subspecies rather than a full species, as hitherto. ----- TnK
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