Elaps marcgravii Wied, 1820 Plate

Vanzolini, Paulo E. & Myers, Charles W., 2015, The Herpetological Collection Of Maximilian, Prince Of Wied (1782 - 1867), With Special Reference To Brazilian Materials, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2015 (395), pp. 1-155 : 62-63

Elaps marcgravii Wied, 1820 Plate 41 and figure 22 (shared holotype)

1821? Nova Acta 10: 109.

1821 Reise 2: 75 (reference to preceding description and to Merrem).

1823 Abbildungen: Lief. 3.

1824 Isis : 669 (reference to the Abbildungen).

1825 Beitra¨ge: 415, 604, pl. 2 ( figs. 9–10 ).

PRESENT STATUS: Micrurus ibiboboca ( Merrem, 1820) .

REMARKS: Like the preceding, this name also dates from the Nova Acta coral snake paper (usually dated 1820, but see discussion

under Prince Maximilian’s Herpetological Publications).

This case is very similar to that of Elaps corallinus above, except that this time Merrem and Wied used different names for the same species. The authors decided to honor Marcgrav differently: Wied used the patronymn marcgravii, Merrem the aboriginal name ibiboboca that Marcgrav had adopted for the snake.

Elaps marcgravii is shown as species no. 169 in Wied’s manuscript catalog; there are two specimens in the collection. Roze (1966), concluded that AMNH R-3937 is the holotype of both ibiboboca and marcgravii because ‘‘it has practically the same ventral and subcaudal counts (210 and 24 [Roze’s counts]) as mentioned by Merrem, and by Wied (210 and 23).’’ This specimen is 755 + 54 5 809 mm total length. The type locality (only a single locality was given) is the mouth of the Rio Belmonte, now Jequitinhonha, at 15 ° 519S, 38 ° 539W.

Roze did not give data on the other specimen, which is AMNH R-3998. It is a female measuring 543 + 37 mm, with 208 ventrals and 19 subcaudals.

Figures

Fig. 22. Shared holotype of Elaps marcgravii Wied, 1820, and Elaps ibiboboca Merrem, 1820, AMNH R-3937.

Fig. 9. Prince Maximilian’s specimen of ‘‘Scytale coronata,’’ a syntype (now paralectotype) of the later described Pseudoboa neuwiedii (Dume´ril, Bibron, and Dume´ril, 1854). Pseudoboa neuwiedii was a composite species, with a simultaneously named variety Nigrum. Wied’s specimen is today considered to represent Pseudoboa nigra (Dume´ril, Bibron and Dume´ril, 1854). AMNH R-21513 (see pl. 20 for color in life).

Fig. 10. Lectotype of Coluber poecilostoma Wied, in dorsal and ventral view (AMNH R-3480). Scale line 5 10 mm.