Brachyophidium Wall, 1921

Szyndlar, Zbigniew & Georgalis, Georgios L., 2023, An illustrated atlas of the vertebral morphology of extant non-caenophidian snakes, with special emphasis on the cloacal and caudal portions of the column, Vertebrate Zoology 73, pp. 717-886 : 717

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/ECD7035E-B4A8-B24D-E84A-465999861AC6

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Vertebrate Zoology by Pensoft

scientific name

Brachyophidium Wall, 1921
status

 

Brachyophidium Wall, 1921

Material examined.

Brachyophidium rhodogaster Wall, 1921 (MCZ Herp R-18073).

Description (Figs 43-44).

Trunk vertebrae. Centrum elongate; neural arch depressed; posterior median notch of the neural arch absent or very shallow; neural spine vestigial and restricted to the posteriormost part of the neural arch, disappearing in mid- and posterior trunk vertebrae; high-angled prezygapophyses; prezygapophyseal accessory processes moderate in length; zygosphene narrow with strongly concave margins in dorsal view; hypapophyses spine-like, disappearing at the level of V 40 to V 50; moderately developed flattened haemal keel appears on posterior trunk vertebrae; paracotylar foramina absent; an asymmetrical subcentral foramen can be occasionally present.

Trunk / caudal transition. The haemal keel becomes progressively larger in the last trunk to anterior cloacal portion of the column, eventually developing into a prominent hypapophysis in posterior cloacal and all following caudal vertebrae.

Number of vertebrae. Brachyophidium rhodogaster (MCZ Herp R-18073):?145 (?133+3+9+; a few anterior trunk vertebrae lacking).

Data from literature: Brachyophidium rhodogaster : 138-143 trunk and cloacal vertebrae plus 9-12 caudal vertebrae ( Alexander and Gans 1966).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Squamata

Order

Squamata

Family

Uropeltidae