Cranial Osteology of the Colubrid Snake Genus Opheodrys

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Abstract
The cranial bones of 2 North American species [O. aestivus and O. vernalis] and 3 Asian species [O. herminae, O. major and O. semicarinatus], previously assigned to Opheodrys, and Symphimus mayae, a species recently removed from Opheodrys, are compared. While all species share a generalized colubrid skull form, all skull elements except the septomaxillae, prefrontals, prootics, exoccipitals, stapes and angulars exhibit at least 1 feature with consistent interspecific variability. Principal coordinate analysis and cluster analyses of various sets of binary coded bone variables indicate that the 3 Asian species are phenetically less similar to the American species Opheodrys aestivus and O. vernalis than is Symphimus mayae. Entechinus is resurrected for the Asian species and only the American species are retained in Opheodrys.

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