Dendrophis salomonis Günther, 1867

Rooijen, Johan Van & Vogel, Gernot, 2016, On the status of three nominal species in the synonymy of Dendrelaphis calligaster (Günther, 1867) (Serpentes: Colubridae), Zootaxa 4093 (2), pp. 293-300 : 298

Description of the syntypes of Dendrophis salomonis Günther, 1867 (BMNH 1946.1.6.11 / BMNH 1946.1.5.97 ( Fig. 4 ))

Two adult male specimens from “Solomons”; body very slender, large eye with round pupil; snout vent length 62.5 / 65.5 cm; tail length 31.5 / 29.5+ cm (tail tip incomplete); 191 / 190 ventral scales; 151 / 117+ paired subcaudal scales; anal shield divided; dorsal scales in 13-13-11 / 14-13-11 rows; vertebral scales strongly enlarged, hexagonal in shape; 8 supralabials; supralabials 4–5 border the eye; infralabials 10 / 11; infralabials touching first chinshield 1–5; infralabials touching second chinshield 5–6; 2 postoculars; temporal scales (L,R) 2:2:2,2:2:2 / 1:2:1:1,2:2:2; 6 scales border the posterior margins of the parietal scales; eye diameter (L,R, in mm) 3.9, 4.1 / 4.2, 4.3; eye nostril distance 3.8, 3.9 / 4.3, 4.2; snout width 4.2 / 4.9 mm; width of the vertebral scale at mid-body 3.3 / 3.6 mm; length of the frontal scale 5.0 / 5.5 mm; head dorsally light bronze with dark marks; loreal triangular with black circumference and light centre, length-width ratio loreal 2:1 / loreal rectangular with black lower half, lengthwidth ratio loreal 3:1; supralabials and throat yellow; an ill-defined black temporal stripe consisting of black upper edges of supralabials and lower edges of loreal, preocular and postoculars, black lateral edges of parietals and black circumference of the temporal scales and scales behind the head; body bronze dorsally, scales on the neck with lateral edges; venter immaculate, pale yellow.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Syntype of D. salomonis (BMNH 1946.1.5.97)