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Tantilla robusta CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ, MENDELSON & GUTIÉRREZ-MAYÉN, 2002

IUCN Red List - Tantilla robusta - Data Deficient, DD

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Pueblan Centipede Snake
S: Serpiente Centipedívora Robusta 
SynonymTantilla robusta CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ, MENDELSON & GUTIÉRREZ-MAYÉN 2002
Tantilla morgani — CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ et al. 2000 (misidentification)
Tantilla robusta — WILSON & MATA-SILVA 2014: 47
Tantilla robusta — WALLACH et al. 2014: 704 
DistributionMexico (Puebla)

Elevation: 930 m (WILSON & MATA-SILVA 2014)

Type locality: Octimaxal Norte, 930 m elevation, Municipio de Cuetzalan del Progreso, Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico (20° 02.743’ N, 97° 30.103’ W)  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: EBUAP 1031, adult female (Laboratorio de Herpetología, Escuela de Biología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla) 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Tantilla robusta differs from all members of the T. calamarina, T. taeniata, and T. melanocephala species groups by lacking any trace of dorsal or lateral striping. It differs from all members of the T. planiceps and T. coronata groups by having the dorsal head coloration similar to the dorsal coloration of the body. Among the remaining 17 species not allocated to species groups by Wilson (1999), T. robusta resembles only three other species: T. moesta, T. rubra, and T. schistosa. Tantilla robusta differs from T. moesta by having a uniformly pale cream venter (versus uniformly dark brown) and by having a shorter nuchal collar than is typically seen in T. moesta (two dorsal scale rows and tips of parietals versus from 2–7 dorsal scale rows and including variable amount of frontal and/or parietals). Tantilla robusta differs from T. rubra by having a uniformly dark brown dorsal pattern and a cream venter (both areas pink to pinkish red in T. rubra: Dixon et al., 2000) and the head is the same color as the dorsum (darker in T. rubra). Tantilla robusta is superficially similar to the diminutive species T. schistosa, from which it differs by being longer (395 mm SVL versus 293 mm maximum SVL) and distinctly more robust; having more ventral scales (153 versus 147 maximum: Wilson, 1987); by having the head wider than the neck (head not wider than neck in T. schistosa); by having a large, distinct postocular pale cream spot and numerous rostral and labial pale cream spots (head mostly, or entirely dark brown; a postocular cream spot sometimes present in T. schistosa); and by having the nuchal collar and ventrum uniformly pale cream in life (frequently yellowish, reddish, or orange in T. schistosa). Tantilla robusta is also superficially similar to T. bairdi, a species known only from Guatemala, from which it differs by having a cream venter [pink or orange, (in preservative) or bright red (in life) in T. bairdi], fewer ventrals (153 versus 163 in the single known female of T. bairdi), and by having the nuchal collar that crosses the posterior supralabial (passing posterior to this scale in T. bairdi: Wilson, 1985); despite their relatively similar lengths, we note that T. bairdi is much more slender than is T. robusta. (CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ et al. 2002) 
Comment 
EtymologyThe name robusta is derived from the Latin word robustus, meaning “stout,” in reference to the robust habitus of this snake. 
References
  • Canseco-Márquez, L.; Mendelson III, J.R. & Gutiérrez-Mayén, G. 2002. A new species of large Tantilla (Squamata: Colubridae) from the Sierra Madre Oriental of Puebla, Mexico. Herpetologica 58 (4): 492-497 - get paper here
  • Canseco-Marquez,L.; Gutierrez-Mayen,G. & Salazar-Arenas,J. 2000. New records and range extensions for amphibians and reptiles from Puebla, México. Herpetological Review 31 (4): 259-263 - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 572 pp
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Wilson, Larry David and Vicente Mata-Silva 2015. A checklist and key to the snakes of the Tantilla clade (Squamata: Colubridae), with comments on distribution and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (4): 418 - get paper here
  • Wilson, Larry David and Vicente Mata-Silva. 2014. Snakes of the genus Tantilla (Squamata: Colubridae) in Mexico: taxonomy, distribution, and Conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (1): 5-95 - get paper here
  • Woolrich-Piña, G. A., E. García-Padilla, D. L. DeSantis, J. D. Johnson, V. Mata-Silva, and L. D. Wilson 2017. The herpetofauna of Puebla, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(4): 791–884 - get paper here
 
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