Salvadora intermedia Hartweg, 1940

Hernández-Jiménez, Carlos A., Flores-Villela, Oscar, Aguilar-Bremauntz, Aranzazú & Campbell, Jonathan A., 2021, Phylogenetic relationships based on morphological data and taxonomy of the genus Salvadora Baird & Girard, 1853 (Reptilia, Colubridae), European Journal of Taxonomy 764 (1), pp. 85-118 : 103-104

Salvadora intermedia Hartweg, 1940

Fig. 10

Salvadora intermedia Hartweg, 1940: 256–259 .

Salvadora intermedia richardi Smith, 1941: 6–9 .

Salvadora intermedia intermedia – Smith, 1941: 7.

Diagnosis

Rostral scale elongated; generally 8 supralabials (occasionally 9), the fourth and fifth normally in contact with the eye; 10–11 infralabials; preocular scale divided; a single loreal scale; prenasal scale in contact with or separated from the second supralabial; chinshields in contact or separated by two small scales; ventral scales 172 to 190; subcaudal scales 84 to 114; tail is 23 to 30% of the total length; 11 +3 maxillary teeth. Color pattern formed by a vertebral line three scales rows wide, yellowish in color and in contact with the parietal region; a pair of lateral lines is fused with the dorsolateral lines on first third of body, separated at second third of the body to tail; dorsolateral lines wide and dark, diverging at the neck, passing through the temporal region to eye.

S alvadora intermedia differs from its congeners by having a divided preocular scale; fewer than 116 subcaudal scales; 8 supralabials, the fourth and fifth in contact with the eye; the second pair of chinshields in contact with each other or separated by a row of scales; and two dark dorsolateral lines that diverge at the neck, passing through the temporal to eye.

Type material examined

MEXICO • ♂, holotype of Salvadora intermedia intermedia ; Guerrero, vicinity of Chilpancingo; W.W. Brown leg.; UMMZ 85733 .

MEXICO • ♂, holotype of Salvadora intermedia richardi ; Puebla, 1 mile N of Tehuacán; 8 Aug. 1940; R.C. Taylor leg.; Collection E.H. Taylor and H.M. Smith No. 23470; UIMNH 25071 .

Distribution and conservation

Endemic to Mexico. Distributed in central-southern Mexico from the vicinity of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, eastward through central Oaxaca and northward to southwestern Puebla ( Fig. 10 ).

Within its distribution it is found in at least two protected natural areas. Mexican legislation has listed this species as subject to Special Protection and the IUCN has it listed as a species of Least Concern.

Remarks

Salvadore intermedia richardi was described by Smith (1941), who based his description on a single specimen collected one mile from Tehuacán, Puebla (UIMNH 25071). Smith (1941) thought this specimen represented a disjunct population of the populations of S. intermedia at Guerrero. Smith (1941) defined S. intermedia richardi as having the prenasal scale separated from the second supralabial and by its number of ventral scales. However, we examined 37 individuals of S. intermedia along what appears to be a continuous distribution from Guerrero and through Oaxaca to southern Puebla, and found that only seven of these specimens had the condition of the prenasal scale separated from the second supralabial described by Smith (1941): three from Oaxaca (MZFC 04059, MZFC 23857, MZFC 23871), three from Guerrero (MCZ 33642, MZFC 02878, FMNH 109866), one from Puebla (MZFC 14384). Additionally, the number of ventral scales of these specimens falls within the range previously described for S. intermedia . Based on these findings, we conclude that these characters are part of the intrapopulational variation of S. intermedia and that S. i. richardi should be considered a junior synonym of S. intermedia as previously suggested by Davis & Dixon (1957).

Figures

Fig. 10. Locality records of Salvadora intermedia Hartweg, 1940.