Boa cenchria Linnaeus

Vanzolini, Paulo E. & Myers, Charles W., 2015, The Herpetological Collection Of Maximilian, Prince Of Wied (1782 - 1867), With Special Reference To Brazilian Materials, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2015 (395), pp. 1-155 : 41

Boa cenchria Linnaeus

Plate 18

1824 Isis : 664 (diagnosis).

1824 Abbildungen: Lief. 6.

1825 Beitra¨ge: 219, 605.

PRESENT STATUS: Although individual variation is not well documented, the snake in plate 18 seems to be Epicrates cenchria (Linnaeus, 1758) , based on such characters as the lateral head stripe extending from the snout through the eye to end of mouth, and the sharply bicolored albeit flattened lateral blotches.

REMARKS: For many years only a single continental species of Epicrates was recognized, although subspecies had been described (e.g., Machado, 1944; Amaral, 1955). Re- cently, however, Passos and Fernandes (2008) and Rivera et al. (2011) independently concluded that there are five distinct continental species: E. alverezi , E. assisi , E. cenchria , E. crassus , and E. maurus . Passos and Fernandes (2008: 28–29) give locality records for four species in Brazil, but their editor showed poor judgment in allowing the distribution map ( fig. 8 ) to be printed so small as to be nearly useless. Hemipenial structures ( fig. 7 ) appear supportive of species distinctness.

There are no specimens extant in the Maximilian collection.

Figures

Fig. 8. Agama picta Wied. Inset (A) showing orange-pigmented tongue and small dewlap. Pen-andwatercolor illustration (B) made by Prince Maximilian at Morro d’Arara in March 1816, with descriptive field identification ‘‘Lacerta fasciata (m).’’ The Abbildungen plate (see pl. 10) was prepared from this sketch. Detailed study (C) of a tail, from a different specimen than shown in the life drawing. Wied’s handwritten explanation to artist (from typescript in Bosch, 1991: 238): Schwanz der Agama picta. um etwa die Vertheilung der Schuppen fu¨r den Kupferstecher genauer zu haben. In a. und b.[regenerating tail at break] sind die Schuppen aus Versehen verschieden gezeichnet, sie sind aber am ganzen Schwanze u¨berall gleich ross, klein und 4-eckig in Reihen gestellt. (‘‘Tail of Agama picta. In order to prepare for the copperplate engraving [see pl. 10], the scales are drawn differently in a and b; along the entire tail, however, the small square scales are equally disposed in rows.’’) From Bosch (1991: 238–239), courtesy of the Brazilian Library of Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart.

Fig. 7. Holotype of Agama picta Wied. Details of hindquarters in ventral view (AMNH R-108); 5 mm scale line.