Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis ( Cope, 1866 )

Hernández-Jiménez, Carlos A., Flores-Villela, Oscar, Aguilar-Bremauntz, Aranzazú & Campbell, Jonathan A., 2021, Phylogenetic relationships based on morphological data and taxonomy of the genus Salvadora Baird & Girard, 1853 (Reptilia, Colubridae), European Journal of Taxonomy 764 (1), pp. 85-118 : 100-101

Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis ( Cope, 1866)

Fig. 9

Diagnosis

Nine supralabials; sixth supralabial in contact with the eye; 10 infralabials; a single subocular sometimes present; 186–213 ventrals; 75–98 subcaudals; tail 20 to 25 % of total length; 10 +3 maxillary teeth; a pale vertebral line contacting the parietal region, three to five scale rows wide on the first third of the body, three rows wide posteriorly, bordered by a pair of dorsolateral lines up to four scale rows wide, extending from the temporal region to the tip of the tail, halfway along the body the dorsolateral lines are divided giving rise to another lateral line distinguishable to the tip of tail.

This taxon differs from S. h. klauberi by having a single supralabial in contact with the eye, whereas S. h. klauberi has two supralabials (the fifth and sixth) in contact; in S. h. mojavensis the supralabials and the lower edge of the eyes are separated by two or more suboculars; S. h. hexalepis is similar to S. h. virgultea in that many individuals have a single supralabial in contact with the eye; however, these subspecies differ in coloration pattern, with the head of S. h. virgultea being brown and the lateral line becoming faded and indistinguishable at about the middle of the body (in S. h. hexalepis the head is gray, the vertebral line is up to five rows of scales wide, and in the middle of the body the lateral line is completely separated from the dorsolateral line).

Etymology

From the Latin ‘ hexa ’ for ‘six’ and ‘ lepis ’ for ‘scale’, which can be interpreted as six-sided scales.

Distribution

It occurs from the southeast of California, United States, southward to northeastern Baja California, central Arizona southward through the northeast portion of the Sonoran Desert, including Tiburón Island ( Fig. 9 ).

Figures

Fig. 9. Locality records of Salvadora hexalepis (Cope, 1866) and its subspecies. Blue dots represent S. h. mojavensis Bogert, 1945; yellow dots S. h. virgultea Bogert, 1935; red dots S. h. hexalepis (Cope, 1866) and green dots S. h. klauberi Bogert, 1945.