Xenopeltis

Weinell, Jeffrey L., Hooper, Errol, Leviton, Alan E. & Brown, Rafe M., 2019, Illustrated Key to the Snakes of the Philippines, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 66 (1), pp. 1-49 : 35-45

Xenopeltis

Represented in the Philippines by a single species...................... Xenopeltis unicolor

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the U. S. National Science Foundation for support for Philippines field research over the last three decades (DEB 0073199, 0910341, 0804115, 0743491, 0640737, 1418895, 1654388, and EF-0334952 to RMB and KU-based graduate students) and the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute for 15 years of logistical support. We thank L. Welton ( KU) for his help with specimens in the KU Biodiversity Institute wet lab. We thank our collaborators and field counterparts, particularly C.D. Siler, A.C. Diesmos, M. Gaulke, V. Yngente, and J. B. Fernandez for their generous contributions during many field excursions, and the Philippine government’s Biodiversity Monitoring Bureau (formerly Parks and Wildlife Bureau) of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, which granted all research permissions (Memoranda of Understanding, BMB–KU), annually-renewed specimen collection permits (Gratuitous Permits to Collect Biological Specimens), and export permits (CITES and non-CITES), necessary for this and related studies; and KU’s IACUC animal care facility approved protocols for our handling of live animals.

We wish to express our gratitude to Arne Rasmussen, Jay Savage, Van Wallach, and Addison Wynn, and the Journal of Herpetology and Zootaxa (Magnolia Press) and their respective editors, John Rowe and Christopher Distel (Jour. Herpetol.) and Zhi-Qiang Zhang (Zootaxa [Magnolia Press]), for allowing us to use and redraw images originally published in their respective papers and journals.

Lastly, we gratefully acknowledge and thank two reviewers, Aaron Bauer and Georg Zug, for their thoughtful comments that helped us improve the presentation.

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APPENDIX

Glossary

Annulus. (pl. – i) Transverse ring of color encircling the body.

Anterior. At or near the front (head) end of the body. Anterior to means relatively nearer to the anterior end of the body compared to another structure.

Band. A broad, transverse area of contrasting color that may or may not completely encircle the body.

Blotch. An area of color differing from the ground color, usually somewhat round or square in shape, and may have a contrasting border.

Calyculate. Covered by cup-shaped structures.

Chin shield. Any of paired, elongated scales on the lower jaw of snakes and situated behind one or more pairs of infralabial scales that are in contact medially.

Cloaca. The common chamber where the urinary, digestive, and reproductive ducts release their contents; opens to the exterior through the vent.

Collar. A transverse band of color on the dorsal surface of the neck.

Crossband. A transverse area of color that extends towards (but usually not onto) the ventral body surface; a band that does not encircle the body and is usually restricted to the dorsal surfaces of the body.

Dorsal. At or near the upper (back) surfaces of the head, body, or tail; dorsal to means relatively nearer to the upper surfaces of the head, body, or tail compared to another structure of interest.

Dorsal body scale. Any of the scales on the upper surface of the body.

Dorsocaudal scale. Any of the scales on the upper surface of the tail.

Eye–mouth distance. The vertical distance from the ventral margin of the eye to the edge of the mouth.

Frontal scale(s). The scale(s) on mid-top of the head between the supraocular scales; if supraocular scales are absent, the frontal scale is between the ocular scales.

Ground color. The background or base color on which more prominent aspects of color pattern (e.g., stripes, blotches, crossbands) may appear. If no specific types of markings are present, the coloration may be called uniform.

Gular scale. A scale on the lower jaw of snakes, situated between the infralabial scales, chin shields, and ventral body scales; sometimes lateral gular scales and medial gular scales are distinguished.

Hemipenis. (pl. –es) Either of paired copulatory organs (of males) lying in a cavity at the base of the tail in squamate reptiles.

Heat sensing pit. Specialized infrared receptors located either within the rostral scale and labial scales, or as single structures between the eye and nostril on either side of the head.

Hypermelanistic. Having excessive pigmentation or blackening of the skin or other tissues.

Infralabial scale. Any of the scales along the lower lip of the mouth behind the mental scale.

Intergenial scale. Any scale situated between a pair of chin shields.

Internasal scale. Any of enlarged scales on the dorsal surface of the head, situated between the nasal scales, behind the rostral scale, and before the prefrontal scales.

Interocular bar. A transverse band of color located on the dorsal surface of the head between the eyes.

Interparietal scale. A scale on the dorsal midline of the head, situated behind the parietal scales.

Keel. Longitudinal ridge on a scale.

Labial scale. Any of the scales on the side of the head bordering the mouth opening; supralabial scale refers to a labial scale along the upper lip of the mouth; infralabial scale refers to a labial scale along the lower lip of the mouth.

Lateral. At or near the left or right side surfaces of the head, body, or tail; the opposite of medial. Lateral to means relatively nearer to the side surfaces of the head, body, or tail compared to some other structure.

Lateral gular scale. Any of the relatively elongate gular scales positioned laterally, rather than medially, on the throat, and arranged in an oblique row.

Lateral body scale. Any of the dorsal body scales not located on the middorsal line of the body.

Longitudinal. Running along, or parallel to, the long axis of the body.

Loreal scale. Either a scale between a nasal scale and a preocular scale (more common condition), or an elongate scale situated between a nasal scale and the eye (less common condition). The latter condition is mostly found in the genera Oxyrhabdium , Myersophis , and some Pseudorabdion species, and the scale is sometimes called a lori-ocular scale (Leviton et al. 2018).

Medial. Situated toward or at the midline of a body or structure.

Medial gular scale. A gular scale along the ventral midline of the throat.

Mental scale. Single median scale situated on the front of the lower jaw, bordered on both sides by the first infralabial scales.

Nasal scale. A scale that borders or contains a nostril. This scale may be entire or partially or completely divided by a suture. If divided, the scale anterior to the suture is called the prenasal scale and the scale posterior to the suture is called the postnasal scale.

Nasal suture. A deep furrow or cleft running from the posterior-ventral end of the nasal scale through the nostril to the prefrontal scale, dividing or nearly dividing the nasal scale into prenasal and postnasal scales.

Nostril. The nasal opening.

Nuchal. Pertaining to neck; the dorsal surface immediately behind the head.

Ocular scale. Either: (1) a scale bordering the eye, including preocular scales, postocular scales, supraocular scales, and subocular scales, or (2) a scale covering a rudimentary eye of blind snakes.

Papillate. Having or bearing papillae, or nipple-shaped protuberances.

Parietal scale. Either of a pair of large scales on the head, immediately behind the frontal scale and forming the last pair of scales usually distinguishable from the dorsal body scales.

Posterior. At or near the tail end of the body. Posterior to means relatively nearer to the posterior (tail) end of the body compared to another structure.

Postocular region. Of or pertaining to the region immediately behind the eye.

Postocular scale. A scale bordering the posterior margin of the eye.

Precloacal scale. A scale on the ventral surface of the body that covers the vent, and is situated behind the ventral body scales and before the subcaudal scales; may be single or divided.

Prefrontal scale. Any of the scales on the dorsal surface of the head situated immediately anteri- or to the frontal scale.

Preocular scale. A scale bordering the anterior margin of the eye.

Rostral scale. A scale at the tip of the snout, bordering the mouth and separating the two rows of supralabial scales.

Snout. The anterior part of the head, which includes the nostrils.

Snout–vent length ( SVL). A measure of body length representing the distance from the tip of the snout to the vent along the midline of the body.

Subcaudal scale. Any scale on the ventral surface of the tail, either in a single or divided (two) longitudinal series.

Subocular scale. Any scales situated between the lower margin of the eye and one or more supralabial scales.

Supralabial scale. Any of the scales along the upper lip of the mouth behind the rostral scale.

Supraocular scale. A scale on the dorsal surface of the head, bordering the upper margin of the eye.

Tail spine. The terminal scale on the tail tip of snakes.

Temporal scale. Any scale behind the postocular scales, below the parietal scale, and above the supralabial scales. Anterior temporal scales are those belonging to the first vertical row immediately behind the postocular scales.

Transverse. Placed or running at right angles to the long axis of the body; across.

Vent. The external opening of the cloaca.

Ventral. At or near the lower surfaces of the head, body, or tail. Ventral to means relatively nearer to the lower surfaces of the head, body, or tail compared to some other structure.

Ventral body scale. Following the definition used by Dowling (1951): any of the scales on the ventral surface of the body anterior to the precloacal scale and in contact with both of the first longitudinal rows of dorsal body scales.

Vertebral body scale. Any of the dorsal body scales located on the middorsal line of the body.

Vertebral stripe. A longitudinal stripe of color located on the middorsal line of the body.

Table 1: Data for illustrated species and specimens.

TABLE 1. Illustrated specimens. California Academy of Sciences ( CAS); Carnegie Museum ( CM); Edward H. Taylor collection ( EHT); Field Museum of Natural History ( FMNH); University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute ( KU); Philippine Bureau of Science ( PBS); National Museum of the Philippines ( PNM); Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum ( SMF); Camila G. Meneses field tag ( UPLB-MNS). (*) Illustration was reflected along a vertical axis; (**) one side of illustration is a mirror of the other; (***) composite illustration, drawn from multiple source specimens, illustrations, or photos.