Salvadora bairdi Jan, 1860

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 : 94-95

Salvadora bairdi Jan in Jan & Sordelli 1860

Fig. 5

Salvadora bairdi Jan in Jan & Sordelli, 1860: pl. 3 fig. 2.

Salvadora bogerti Smith, 1941: 2–6 .

Diagnosis

Rostral without free edges, slightly elongated towards the back interceding between internasals; 8 supralabials, generally fourth and fifth touching the lower edge of the eye; 10 infralabials; preocular divided; a single loreal; prenasal may or may not be in contact with the second supralabial; a second pair of chinshields in contact with each other or sometimes separated by a row of scales;175–209 ventrals; 82–108 subcaudals; tail length 22 to 29% of the total length; maxillary teeth normally 9+3. Color pattern consists of a pale vertebral line three scales wide that begins on the neck and tapers to one scale wide on the last third of body; two pairs of dark longitudinal lines, dorsolateral lines two to four scales wide not touching the temporal region and connecting on the anterior part, forming a patch that separates them from the parietal region; lateral lines involving the third row of dorsal scales and may or may not be interrupted by an irregular pattern of patches in the posterior region of head.

This species differs from its congeners by having a single loreal, edges of rostral scale not free, maxillary teeth 9 +3, and a pale vertebral line that extends to the neck without touching the temporal region.

Etymology

Named in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird.

Type material

MEXICO • holotype of Salvadora bogerti ; “Tehuantepec”, locality uncertain; USNM 30296 .

MEXICO • holotype of Salvadora bairdi ; “Méxique” Guanajuato, restricted to Acámbaro, see Smith & Taylor (1950); Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, Westphal coll.; MSNM (destroyed) .

Distribution and conservation

Endemic to Mexico; distributed from Sonora and Chihuahua southward through the states of Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco; in central Mexico through the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the states of Querétaro, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Guerrero, Estado de México, Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla, and Veracruz ( Fig. 5 ).

Within its distribution, it is found in at least four 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

The holotype of S. bogerti is a juvenile purportedly collected by F. Sumichrast in the vicinity of “Tehuantepec”; this locality does not appear to be the usual collecting site of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, but rather a community in the municipality of San Andrés Tuxtla called Tehuantepec (from the notes of C.M. Bogert; Pérez-Higareda & Smith 1991). Independently of this, the morphological characteristics of the holotype of bogerti correspond with the morphological characteristics of a population of specimens of Salvadora bairdi collected in the state of Veracruz, near Cordoba. It is worth mentioning that Salvadora bairdi is the species that varies the most in squamation and coloration patterns. After an extensive review of the literature and after many years of collecting (either personal or by other collectors) in the region of Los Tuxtlas, no more specimens have come to light, and it is apparent that the holotype of S. bogerti may have been a mislabeled specimen. Pérez-Higareda et al. (2007) do not list this species as part of the ophidiofauna of the region; therefore, we conclude that the locality of the type of Salvadora bogerti is not from Los Tuxtlas and more likely was collected by Sumichrast near Orizaba; a locality where he lived and made collections.

Some individuals in northern Sinaloa, southern Sonora and Chihuahua have a series of patches or transverse patches on the first third of body; however, in spite of being an isolated population, this character is not constant in the specimens we examined.

Figures

Fig. 5. Locality records of Salvadora bairdi Jan & Sordelli, 1860.