Abstract.—A new snake of the genus Tantilla is described from southern Belize. This species, a member of the taeniata group, is characterized by a dark gray-brown, almost black ground color; a narrow pale middorsal stripe confined to the vertebral scale row; a narrow pale lateral stripe on adjacent thirds of the third and fourth scale rows; a broad pale nape band that is complete medially; dark mottling on the lateral edges of the ventrals; and 153 ventrals 64 subcaudals in the single known specimen, a female. It is most similar to Tantilla impensa of southern Chiapas, the central Guatemalan ranges and western Honduras but differs from this species in its darker overall color pattern, the presence of dark mottling on the lateral edges of the ventrals, and in having a lower number of ventrals.
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1 March 2004
A New Species of Tantilla (Serpentes; Colubridae) of the Taeniata Group from Southern Belize
Peter J. Stafford
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