Synophis niceforomariae Pyron, Arteaga, Echevarría & Torres-Carvajal, 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pyron, R. Alexander
name: Arteaga, Alejandro
name: Echevarría, Lourdes Y.
name: Torres-Carvajal, Omar
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Colubridae
Synophis
Synophis niceforomariae

description: Synophis niceforomariae sp. nov.   
 Holotype. MHUA 14577 (Fig. 2), adult male collected 24 November 2007 at Finca La Esperanza, Valle de La Manguita, Municipio Amalfi, Departamento Antioquia, Colombia (N6.978611, W-75.044444; 1394m).   
 Paratypes. MHUA 14413 (Fig. 3), adult collected at Municipio Anori, Departamento Antioquia, Colombia (N6.987778, W-75.044444; 1320m); MLS 2072, adult male collected at Municipio Campamento, Departamento Antioquia, Colombia (N6.979498, W-75.296602; 1656m).   
 Synophis calamitus BMNH 1940.2.30.31 - 8 2 162 118 21 19 17 408 241 M Synophis calamitus CAS 23612 11 8 2 166 100 19 19 17 186 80 F Synophis calamitus KU 164208 9 8 1 163 125 21 19 17 142 73 -   
 Synophis calamitus KU 197107 9 7 1 166 110 21 19 17 149 74 F Synophis calamitus MCZ R-164530 11 9 2 164 116 - 19 17 367 208 -   
 Synophis calamitus MZUTI 3694 11 9 2 166 118 23 19 17 462 265 M Synophis calamitus QCAZ 10453 10 8 2 160 - 19 19 16 502 - F ……continued on the next page Synophis lasallei EPN S.974 - - 2 156 116 - 21 - 175 90 M Synophis lasallei EPN S.975 - - 2 155 119 - 21 - 354 201 M Synophis lasallei FHGO 6489 11 8 2 147 111 23 21 21 153 86 M Synophis lasallei FMNH 81313 - - 2 154 112 - 21 - 292 158 F   
 Synophis lasallei MCZ R-156873 11 7 1 147 115 - - - 412 206 -   
 Synophis lasallei MLS / CJSP - - 2 144 101 - - - 300 170 M ……continued on the next page Species Collection IL SL PO V SC D1 D2 D3 SVL TL Sex Synophis lasallei MZUTI 4181 11 9 2 156 29 21 21 19 272 42 M Synophis lasallei USNM 233061 11 9 2 156 124 - 21 - 285 160 M Synophis lasallei USNM 233062 11 8 2 153 126 - 22 20 360 200 M Synophis lasallei USNM 233063 11 8 2 151 86 23 21 19 308 197 M Synophis lasallei USNM 233064 11 8 2 151 - - 21 19 270 150 - Etymology. Named after the French priest and naturalist Hermano Nicéforo María (born Antoine Rouhaire Siazaude), who established important natural-history collections at the Instituto de la Salle in Bogotá. While numerous taxa have been named mariarum, nicefori, or some derivative (see Adler 1989), he requested in a 1968 letter that he be addressed in print using his full name, Hermano Nicéforo María (Rodriguez 2002). Thus, it seems appropriate to use the specific epithet niceforomariae.   
 Diagnosis. Synophis niceforomariae can be differentiated from all other similar or related species by the combination of an unmodified vertebral scale row with a single weak keel; smooth nuchal scales; absence of a nuchal collar in adults; presence of a loreal; intranasals in contact; fused prefrontals; rostral concave; anal single; no apical pits; 2 postoculars; 10–12 infralabials; 8 supralabials; 184–193 ventrals; 127–131 subcaudals; and 19-19- 17 dorsal scale-rows.   
 Description. Small-sized, long-tailed snakes (~ 400mm SVL, 200mm TL) with slender bodies and head distinct from neck. Eye large (>1/3 head height), bulbous, and black in life, with pupil not easily distinguishable from iris. Pupil round in preservative (though this may be an effect of fixation). Dorsum coloration grayish-brown with iridescent sheen in life and preservation, no light-colored nuchal collar in adults, and posterior supralabials mostly unpigmented (<50%). Ventral coloration primarily bright yellow, extending onto margins of ventral scales and supralabials. Anterior one-third of ventral surface yellow; posterior two-thirds to vent becomes increasingly mottled, and ventral surface of tail same color as dorsum.   
 Remarks. This species was referred to as Synophis cf. bicolor by Pyron et al. (2015). The cleared-and-stained skull of the male holotype was prepared by Martinez (2011), with illustrations of the cranium and mandible (her Figs. 15, 18, & 22), but the hemipenis was not illustrated or described in detail. Condition of the vertebrae, which are heavily modified in Emmochliophis and some Synophis (Fritts & Smith 1969; Savitzky 1974; Hillis 1990) unknown, pending skeletal preparation, micro-CT scanning, or X-rays. Has a very small known range to the east of Yarumal, Colombia, at ~ 1300–1600m around Campamento, Anori, and Amalfi. Two reportedly similar specimens in the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (ICN) were collected slightly to the south of the populations sampled here, at lower elevations (~ 900–1300m; Table 2). We did not examine these individuals, but it seems likely that they are also S. niceforomariae, and that the range of the species is slightly larger (Fig. 4).   
 With this new species and the re-assignment of numerous specimens examined by Pyron et al. (2015) and Torres-Carvajal et al. (2015), the known species limits of many Synophis taxa have changed. In particular, Pyron et al. (2015) assigned specimens of S. bogerti, S. calamitus, and S. niceforomariae to S. bicolor and assigned specimens of S. zamora to S. bicolor and S. lasallei. Similarly, Torres-Carvajal assigned specimens of S. niceforomariae to S. bicolor. Using the updated information from the combined datasets (Tables 1, 2), we provide a checklist with updated summaries of geographic, elevational, and external morphological data useful for classifying the 9 species of Synophis known to date:
description: Published as part of Pyron, R. Alexander, Arteaga, Alejandro, Echevarría, Lourdes Y. & Torres-Carvajal, Omar, 2016, A revision and key for the tribe Diaphorolepidini (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) and checklist for the genus Synophis, pp. 293-320 in Zootaxa 4171 (2) on pages 295-302, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4171.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/158885