Corallus Daudin, 1803

Szyndlar, Zbigniew & Georgalis, Georgios L., 2023, An illustrated atlas of the vertebral morphology of extant non-caenophidian snakes, with special emphasis on the cloacal and caudal portions of the column, Vertebrate Zoology 73, pp. 717-886 : 717

Corallus Daudin, 1803

Material examined.

Corallus caninus (Linnaeus, 1758) (PIMUZ A/ III 1024; SMF PH 47; SMF PH 48; SMF PH 54; SMF PH 182); Corallus cropanii (Hoge, 1954) (AMNH 92997); Corallus hortulana (Linnaeus, 1758) (USNM 306071; UMMZ 190735).

Description (Figs 86-88).

Trunk vertebrae. Centrum nearly as long as wide; cotyle and condyle depressed (especially ventrally); neural arch vaulted; posterior median notch of the neural arch deep; neural spine as high as long; prezygapophyses nearly horizontal (each inclined from horizontal plane almost 0°) in anterior view (but slightly more inclined [~13-14°] from horizontal plane in Corallus cropanii ; Fig. 86 ); prezygapophyseal accessory processes vestigial; zygosphene with a prominent median lobe in dorsal view and possessing a distinct median ridge in anterior view; hypapophyses disappearing between V 70 and V 80 (in Corallus hortulana ); haemal keel in more posterior vertebrae indistinct; paracotylar foramina present in Corallus annulatus (Cope, 1875) and Corallus cropanii (see also Kluge 1991).

Onary et al. (2018) also documented the presence of small, pit-shaped foramina in Corallus , which they interpereted as parazygantral foramina.

Trunk / caudal transition (for Corallus hortulana ). The last trunk and cloacal vertebrae are provided with prominent haemal keels (rather than short hypapophyses). Paired haemapophyses first appear on the second caudal vertebra.

Number of vertebrae. Corallus caninus (SMF PH 47): 286 (204+4+78); Corallus caninus (SMF PH 48): 276: 204+3+69); Corallus caninus (SMF PH 54): 291 (208+3+80); Corallus caninus (SMF PH 182): 283 (204+2+77); Corallus hortulana (USNM 306071): 360 (259+?2+99) (some vertebrae in this specimen were displaced; the loss of a possible additional cloacal vertebra cannot be excluded).

Data from literature and unpublished data from personal communications: Corallus annulatus : 286 trunk vertebrae plus 4 cloacal vertebrae plus 103 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus annulatus : 268 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 86+ caudal vertebrae ( Alexander and Gans 1966); Corallus batesii (Gray, 1860): 201-223 trunk vertebrae plus 3-4 cloacal vertebrae plus 59-72 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus batesii : 214 trunk vertebrae plus unknown number of cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Teixeira 2013); Corallus caninus : 209-223 trunk vertebrae plus 3-5 cloacal vertebrae plus 72-80 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus caninus : 203 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 73 caudal vertebrae ( Alexander and Gans 1966); Corallus caninus : 202 trunk vertebrae plus unknown number of cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Tsuihiji et al. 2012); Corallus caninus : 265 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 81 caudal vertebrae (Jingsong Shi, unpublished data, personal communication to GLG); Corallus caninus : 197 trunk vertebrae plus 65 cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Holman 1967); Corallus cookii Gray, 1842: 259-270 trunk vertebrae plus 3 cloacal vertebrae plus 110-114 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus cookii : 268 trunk vertebrae plus 112 cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Nopcsa 1923); Corallus cropanii : 189 trunk vertebrae plus 3 cloacal vertebrae plus 60+ caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus hortulana : 283 trunk vertebrae plus 3 cloacal vertebrae plus 107 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020); Corallus hortulana : 280 trunk vertebrae plus more than 124 cloacal and caudal vertebrae (some caudal vertebrae were missing) ( Nopcsa 1923); Corallus hortulana : 261 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 112 caudal vertebrae ( Boa enydris of Alexander and Gans 1966); Corallus hortulana : 277-291 trunk vertebrae plus unknown number of cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Teixeira 2013); Corallus ruschenbergerii (Cope, 1875): 264-271 trunk vertebrae plus 3-4 cloacal vertebrae plus 110-144 caudal vertebrae ( Machado-Filho 2020).

What is of interest is the remarkably high number of caudal vertebrae (reaching up to 144), apparently correlated with the arboreal lifestyle of this genus.

Figures

Figure 86. Boidae: Corallus cropanii (AMNH 92997), trunk vertebrae.