Dendrophidion apharocybe CADLE, 2012
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Dendrophidion apharocybe
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Dendrophidion apharocybe CADLE 2012 Dendrophidion dendrophis — GAIGE et al 1937: 12 (part) Dendrophidion vinitor — SMITH 1941: 74–75 (part) Dendrophidion apharocybe — WALLACH et al. 2014: 224 Dendrophidion apharocybe — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023 |
| Distribution | Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama Type locality: Finca La Selva, 40 m elevation, Heredia Province, Costa Rica |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: LACM 148593, an adult male. Collected 9 December 1974 by C. Dock, Carl Lieb, and Catherine Toft. The holotype is 908 mm total length; 574 mm SVL; 334 mm tail length (complete); (Figs. 2B, 7, 14C). Paratypes: USNM |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Dendrophidion apharocybe is characterized by (1) dorsocaudal reduction from 8 to 6 occurring posterior to subcaudal 25 (range, 26–63); (2) single anal plate; (3) relatively low subcaudal counts (<130 in males and females); (4) black-edged pale crossbands on the neck nearly always more than one scale row wide; (5) immaculate ventrals and subcaudals except for lateral dark pigment; (6) a relatively short hemipenis with a bulbous apex strongly inclined toward the sulcate side (asulcate edge of apex higher than sulcate edge) and largely devoid of ornamentation (apex nude). The combination of few subcaudals and a single anal plate will distinguish D. apharocybe from all other species of Dendrophidion except D. vinitor, D. crybelum, and D. paucicarinatum. Dendrophidion apharocybe differs from species of the D. percarinatum group (D. bivittatum, D. brunneum, D. paucicarinatum,D.percarinatum)in having the dorsocaudal reduction from 8 to 6 usually posterior to subcaudal 30 (26–30 in some specimens from Costa Rica and Panama; see Sexual Dimorphism and Geographic Trends). A single anal plate will distinguish D. apharocybe from all of these except some individuals of D. paucicarinatum (anal plate variable in this species). Dendrophidion paucicarinatum usually has a more uniformly colored dorsum lacking distinct crossbands, has narrow dark lines across the venter in adults and many juveniles, has a higher number of ventrals (>175 compared with <170 in D. apharocybe), and has more weakly keeled dorsal scales. Dendrophidion apharocybe differs from D. boshelli in having 17 midbody scale rows (15 in D. boshelli). Dendrophidion apharocybe has fewer subcaudals (<130) and usually a shorter adult relative tail length (<60% of SVL) than D. nuchale auctorum and D. dendrophis (>130 and usually >60% of SVL, respectively); the anal plate may be either single or divided in these last two species, and their venters are often heavily marked with dark pigment (immaculate in D. apharocybe) (CADLE 2012: 200). |
| Comment | Similar species: Dendrophidion apharocybe previously has been confused with another new species, D. crybelum, and with D. vinitor as redefined by CADLE 2012. Distribution: map in CADLE 2012: 206. Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). Similar species: D. crybelum, D. vinitor. |
| Etymology | Named after the Greek words aphares (άϕαρής), meaning naked or unclad, and kybe (кύβη), meaning head. The ‘‘naked head’’ refers to the distinctive unadorned apex of the hemipenis of D. apharocybe compared with its sibling species. The species name is a feminine noun in apposition. |
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