 | market - home |
|
| market - home |
|
 |
 |
News & Events:
|
Posted by Dean Alessandrini on March 31, 2001 at 19:30:05:
In Reply to: the rest posted by David on March 30, 2001 at 10:08:53:
: : : : Anyone interested in a description of Drymarchon from "The Snakes of Honduras"( refers in passing to the speices of mexico). I also have one on margaritae, but its in german.
: : Here goes; Drymarchon corais ; range-low to moderate elevations from southern Texas on the the Atlantic versant & southern Sonora, Mexico on the Pacific, to Argentina; also occurs in the southeastern US.
: : Description; A very large snake( max recorded totle length, 2950 mm) with a single nasal; loreal single; preocular single; postoculars 2; temporals 2+1 to 2+3, usually 2+2; supralabials 7 to 9, usually 8 (8-8 in all Honduran specimens) antepenultimate one wedged-shaped & separated from temporals by contacy of adjacent supralabials or not (in contact with temporal on 20 sides; not on 6 sides); infralabials usually 8 (8-8 in all Honduran specimens); ventrals 182 to 217 ( 193 yo 207 in Honduran specimens; anal plate single; subcaudals 55 to 88 (68 to 80 in Honduran specimens); dorsal scales smooyh, with two apical pits, in 19 to 17 rows anteriorly; 17 fows at midbody, & 13 to 15 rows posteriorly.
: : Taxonomic comments- Coloration in this widespread species is geographically variable. The more Northerly distributed populations (those in the US, northeastern Mex, & western Mex given the subspecific epithets couperi, erebennus, orbizabenis, & rubidus) are predominately black dorsally (certain pupulations in western Mex excepted; see below). Those in Middle America & northern South America (Veracruz & Chiapas, Mex south to northern South America- melanurus & unicolor) are gray, brown, gray-brown or olive brown dorsally, uniformly so or grading to dark gray, dark gray-brown or dark black on the posterior portion of the body & tail. In the remainder of the range in South America the dorsum is dark anteriorly & pale posteriory or black with irregular crossbands which increase in prominance posteriorly (corais & margaritae).
: : more to come!
: Authors have noted that western Mex populations of this species need reevaluation but no such promblems exist in Honduras. The material segregates nicely into two groups, One group is characterizad by a uniformly tan dorsum, is southern in distribution (Depto Francisco Morazan), & fits the description of D.c. unicolor,.The other group has a gray, gray-brown or olive-brown anterior dorsal ground color that grads to dark gray, dary gray-brown, of black on the posterior portion of the body & tail, is in northern distribution(Deptos. Copan, Gracias a Dios, Islas de la Bahia, & Ocotepeque), & corresponds to the color description of D,c. melanurus.
: Color notes in life are available for a specimen from Gracias a Dios, most of the dorsum olive green, but becoming progressively darker on posterior portion of the body; tail completely black; diagonal black mark about 1.5 scales long beginning on the 5th dorsal scale row on the neck & extending onto lateral portion of 8th ventral; head olive green above with black edging on posterior portions 4-7; chin cream with black edging on posterior portions of infralabials 4,5 & 6; venter pale yellow anteriorly, becoming progresivly darker on porterior portion of body & tail. Coloration of Bay Island specimens, which differs slightly from that of snaks from the northern portion of conterminous Honduras, has been decribed previously . Ecological distribution-Sea levelto 1500 meter in Tropical Moist Forest, Tropical Dry Forest, Subtropical Moist Forest & Subtropical Dry Forest formations. From Wilson & Meyer, The Snakes of Honduras.
