Candoia Gray, 1842
publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e101372 |
publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8F3D5EDA-2F18-4E5C-A53E-2F7741FF1339 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EBB51AE6-A200-C39C-9E27-F2C65BA599C1 |
treatment provided by |
|
scientific name |
Candoia Gray, 1842 |
status |
|
Material examined.
Candoia aspera ( Günther, 1877) (UMMZ 190729); Candoia bibroni ( Duméril & Bibron, 1844) (UMMZ 190730); Candoia carinata (Schneider, 1801) (NHMUK 83.6.28.51; UMMZ 190731; ZFMK uncat.).
Description (Figs 96-102).
Trunk vertebrae. Centrum shorter than wide or as short as wide; cotyle and condyle orbicular to slightly depressed; neural arch moderately vaulted; posterior median notch of the neural arch deep; neural spine height variable among different species: either of medium height ( Candoia bibroni , one vertebra studied), or distinctly higher than long ( Candoia carinata ) or more than twice as high as long ( Candoia aspera , two vertebrae studied) - in a very old individual of Candoia carinata (ZFMK uncat.; Fig. 102 View Figure 102 ), the neural spine is very low; prezygapophyses usually not much inclined, with the exception of a vertebra of Candoia aspera (UMMZ 190729; Fig. 96 View Figure 96 ), where these are strongly dorsally inclined; prezygapophyseal accessory processes vestigial; hypapophyses present throughout the trunk portion of the column, of varying shape, usually plate-like (two of three specimens of Candoia carinata ; C. aspera ); paracotylar foramina present; parazygantral foramina present in two specimens of Candoia carinata (UMMZ 190731; ZFMK uncat.) but absent in another specimen of the same species (NHMUK 83.6.28.51) and in Candoia aspera and C. bibroni .
Trunk / caudal transition (for Candoia carinata ). The plate-like hypapophysis is present in anterior cloacal vertebra. In the last cloacal vertebra, it changes into a haemal keel, gradually becoming larger and wider in the succeeding caudal vertebrae. Paired haemapophyses appear first on the 5th caudal vertebra.
Number of vertebrae. Candoia carinata (NHMUK 83.6.28.51): 213+ (172+3+38+).
Data from literature: Candoia aspera : 144 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 21+ caudal vertebrae ( Alexander and Gans 1966); Candoia carinata : 190 trunk vertebrae plus 4 cloacal vertebrae plus unknown number of caudal vertebrae ( Gasc 1974); Candoia paulsoni (Stull, 1956): 190 trunk vertebrae plus unknown number of cloacal and caudal vertebrae ( Tsuihiji et al. 2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.