William Edward Duellman

Name: A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake, Pituophis deppei
Author: William Edward Duellman

A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

Summary

“A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake, Pituophis deppei”, is a work by William Edward Duellman. It explores elements such as blotches, ventrals and Michoacán.

Quotes from A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake… (William Edward Duellman)

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ Comparison of specimens from the northern part of the Mexican Plateau (Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango—5 specimens) , the central part of the plateau (Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas—13 specimens) , the southern part of the plateau (Guanajuato, Jalisco, México, and Michoacán—18 specimens) , and Puebla and southern Veracruz (12 specimens) shows the average number of ventrals for these samples to be, respectively, 221.6, 216.7, 221.3, and 220.0. The average number of dorsal body-blotches for the same samples are, respectively, 36.6, 37.7, 38.4, and 34.6. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ The specimen from Párajo Verde, Veracruz, was considered to be an intergrade between P. deppei and P. lineaticollis by Smith (1943: 461) , who stated that, although the snake had 231 ventrals and dark lateral streaks as does deppei, it had light-centered dorsal blotches and stripes on the neck as does lineaticollis. This specimen (USNM 110892) has a high number of ventrals for deppei; one from Jalisco has 232, and one each from Guanajuato and Veracruz have 229. The blotches posteriorly are lighter than those anteriorly and are slightly lighter in the center than at the periphery. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ Diagnosis.—This subspecies is characterized by the presence of solid body-blotches and lateral intercalary spots, dorsal interspaces less than five scales in length, and the absence of paired stripes or rows of blotches, on the anterior part of the body. There are 209 to 232 ventrals and 52 to 62 caudals. The body-blotches number 27 to 49. In adults the anterior and posterior body-blotches are black; the lateral intercalary spots are solid black. In many individuals black dashes connect the adjacent corners of the dorsal body-blotches (Pl. 45, Fig. 1) . ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ This specimen, according to the type description, has 233 ventrals and 67 caudals. In 1863 Jan described Pituophis deppei var. pholidostictus, also with "Mexico" as the type locality. Subsequent authors (see synonymy of P. deppei deppei in Stull, 1940: 25) have treated pholidostictus as a synonym of deppei. Smith and Taylor (1950: 334) restricted the type localities of deppei and pholidostictus to San Juan Teotihuacán, México. Cope (1860: 369) described Arizona jani on the basis of a specimen in the United States National Museum from Buena Vista, Coahuila. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ Four other specimens from the same area are typically deppei. There is some doubt as to the actual provenance of the snake stated to have come from Párajo Verde, for, according to Smith (1943: 460) , the snake had been tied to a truck and dragged halfway down the slopes of the Cumbres de Acultzingo, where he found it. He surmised that it probably was dragged no farther than the settlement, Párajo Verde, at the Cumbres de Acultzingo.
Fugler and Webb (1956: 171) commented on the uniformly brown dorsum of a specimen (KU 39564) from 16 miles east and 18 miles north of Ocampo, Coahuila. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ Descriptions of some new amphibians and reptiles from Guatemala. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 67:159-178.
Stull, O. G.
1932. An annotated list of the forms of the genus Pituophis. Occas. Papers Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 250:1-5.
1940. Variations and relationships in the snakes of the genus Pituophis. Bull. U. S. Natl. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

William Edward Duellman, A Taxonomic Study of the Middle American Snake…

“ Guerrero: Acahuizotla, USNM 46537; Chilpancingo, CNHM 38356-9, UIMNH 35000, UMMZ 85724-5; Omiltemi, USNM 46462. México: 40 km. N of Ciudad México, UIMNH 36223. Michoacán: Acuaro de las Lleguas, UMMZ 112565; Dos Aguas, UMMZ 118786, 119567-8; 40 km. E of Morelia, UMMZ 101932; Tancítaro, CNHM 37126, 39069-72. Morelos: 1 km. W of Tepoztlán, UMMZ 101931; Tres Cumbres, UIMNH 35001. Oaxaca: 25 km. N of El Soledad, UIMNH 6210; 24 km. NW of Oaxaca, UMMZ 114668; San Pedro Quiechapa, USNM 110893.
Pituophis lineaticollis gibsoni Stuart, new combination
Pituophis deppei gibsoni Stuart, Proc. ”

William Edward Duellman

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