Geophis hoffmanni, , Bocourt, 1883

Savage, Jay M. & Watling, James I., 2008, Not so rare snakes: a revision of the Geophis sieboldi group (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in lower Central America and Colombia, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 153 (3), pp. 561-599 : 598

GEOPHIS HOFFMANNI

Emmett Reid Dunn examined the type series of this species in Berlin and London during his tour of European museums as a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow in 1928–29. His notes list eight types as follows:

‘Bmnh 61-2-10-3

Berl 1868 (2)

’1869 (2)

‘1870

‘4106

‘4003 TYPES’

In 1942 (p. 4) Dunn stated ‘... I have examined the type (Berlin 4003)...’. However , as pointed out by Downs under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Art. 72.4.7) this phraseology does not establish ZMB 4003 as the lectotype .

Downs re-examined the Berlin syntypes all from ‘ Costa Rica’ and received data for the syntype in London (new number BMNH 1946.1.6.54) purportedly from ‘ Porto Caballo , Costa Rica’. He noted that 4106 contained two specimens to bring the total to nine syntypes. Downs (1967) concluded that the original description of this species (Peters, 1859) was a composite of features from several specimens and chose to designate one of the larger syntypes , an adult female ( ZMB 1870 ), as the lectotype . However , it seems likely that the description and illustration in Peters (1859) was based on one of three small male syntypes having the supraocular and postocular separated from contact on the left side of the head by an extension of the parietal. Peters apparently wished to indicate the maximum size of his new form and so the published measurements were for the largest specimen, not the one illustrated and described. Bauer, Gunther & Klipfel (1995) listed the same numbers for the Berlin syntypes as in Dunn’s notes and in Downs (1967) but indicated there was only one specimen under number 1869. However, they list a syntype at ZMUC, presumably the missing second specimen of 1869 (but see below). These authors did not realize that Downs had selected ZMB (1870) as the lectotype .

Dr Rainer Günther kindly reviewed the Berlin series for us. He reports that it consists of: ZMB 1866 – two specimens ; 1869 – two specimens; 1870 – one specimen; ZMB 4003 – one specimen ; ZMB 4106 – two specimens . These are the same numbers and number of specimens reported by Downs (1967). All of these snakes were collected by Carl Hoffmann, who resided in Costa Rica, from 1854 until his premature death in 1859 (Savage, 2002). The specimen in the British Museum is from the type series sent there as a gift or on exchange shortly after the species description as it was catalogued in 1861. It is unknown how the locality ‘ Porto Caballo’ became associated with this snake, as there is no locality with that name in Costa Rica. There is an Isla Caballo in the Golfo de Nicoya on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. We know of no snakes in collections from this mangrove- surrounded island. Geophis hoffmanni is a common and typical snake of upland Costa Rica and is even today found in vacant lots and gardens on the Meseta Central. As Hoffmann lived and collected for the most part at upland sites it seems more than unlikely that he visited Isla Caballo. Boulenger (1894) and Dunn’s notes list it as simply being from Costa Rica, leading to the suspicion that the citation of ‘ Porto Caballo’ was added advertently when this specimen was recatalogued in 1946 .