Vertebrate Zoology 70(2): 111-124, doi: 10.26049/VZ70-2-2020-02
Taxonomic revision and comments on two groups of the genus Coniophanes (Squamata: Dipsadidae)
Ricardo Palacios Palacios Aguilar‡, Oscar Flores-Villela‡ Mexico City, Mexico
Corresponding author: Ricardo Palacios Aguilar ( ricardopalaciosaguilar@gmail.com ) © Ricardo Palacios Aguilar, Oscar Flores-Villela. This article is freely available under the J.UCS Open Content License. Citation:
Palacios Aguilar RP, Flores-Villela O (2020) Taxonomic revision and comments on two groups of the genus Coniophanes (Squamata: Dipsadidae). Vertebrate Zoology 70(2): 111-124. https://doi.org/10.26049/VZ70-2-2020-02 |  |
Abstract
A revision of the Coniophanes lateritius and C. piceivittis groups was conducted to evaluate the taxonomic status of their members. The supraspecific groups of Coniophanes can be easily distinguished from each other, but the species within them exhibit wide overlap in scutellation. Apparently, these taxa can be differentiated by color pattern and geographic distribution. However, we report polymorphism in the color pattern of the lateritius group. Maxillary and hemipenial morphology can be useful and informative in the groups studied. The revision of these characters (scutellation, color pattern, maxillary and hemipenial morphology, and geographic distribution) led us to conclude that C. sarae is a junior synonym of C. lateritius, and to resurrect the name C. taeniatus new comb., for the Atlantic versant populations of Mexico previously assigned to C. piceivittis .
Keywords
Dipsadidae, hemipenial morphology, maxillary morphology, Mexico, nomenclature