Clelia

Scott Jr., Norman J., Giraudo, Alejandro R., Scrocchi, Gustavo, Aquino, Aida Luz, Cacciali, Pier & Motte, Martha, 2006, THE GENERA BOIRUNA AND CLELIA (SERPENTES: PSEUDOBOINI) IN PARAGUAY AND ARGENTINA, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 46 (9), pp. 77-105 : 80

Key to Small Juvenile Clelia and Boiruna from

Argentina and Paraguay

1a. Hatchlings gray, brown, or red dorsally without dark vertebral stripe ......................................................... 2

1b. Hatchlings laterally red or orange with dark vertebral stripe at least three scales wide ...................... 4

2a. Dorsal color gray or olive; collar present or not; black mark on base of dorsal scales ... Clelia rustica

2b. Dorsal color bright red with broad white nuchal collar and a black head ( Fig. 10 ); black may be present on tips of dorsal scales ............................. 3

3a. Ventrals more than 210 in males and more than 225 in females; loreal scale often small or missing, usually contacting only the second supralabial (Appendix 3, Fig. 2 ) .................................. Clelia plumbea

3b. Ventrals less than 215 in males and less than 220 in females; loreal scale normal, contacting the second and third supralabials ............................... Clelia clelia

4a. Hatchlings greater than 300 mm total length ( Fig. 3 ); usually 7 supralabials (Appendix 1); 212-247 ventrals ............................................. Boiruna maculata

4b. Hatchlings less than 250 mm total length; usually 8 supralabials; 165-205 ventrals ............................ 5

5a. Ventrals less than 180 in males, less than 190 in females (Appendix 4) ............................ Clelia bicolor

5b. Ventrals more than 180 in males, more than 195 in females ...................................................... Clelia quimi

Figures

FIGURE 2. Diagrams of the lateral head squamation in Boiruna and Clelia. A) C. clelia (MNHNP 3840); B) C. plumbea (MNHNP 3059); C) Boiruna maculata (MNHNP 7674); D) C. bicolor (MNHNP 2616); E) C. rustica (FML 2766).

FIGURE 3. Total lengths of Boiruna and Clelia from Argentina and Paraguay.

FIGURE 10. Juvenile Clelia plumbea. INALI 387, Aristóbulo del Valle, Misiones Province, Argentina. Photo by A. Giraudo.