This was considered to be the defining factors of the Melanogaster before they decided it was just a BCC.
A New Subspecies of
Boa Constrictor,
Boa constrictor
melanogaster,
from Ecuador
(Serpentes: Boidae)
BY JAMES K. LANGHAMMER
Detroit Zoological Park
P.O. Box 39, Royal Oak, Michigan 48068
(
http://www.boa-subspecies.com/subspe...lanogaster.htm)
Diagnosis.-Boa constrictor melanogaster has the smallest and the most numerous dorsal body scales of all the conspecifics, ranging from 86-94 in circumferential count. The dorsal pattern between head and anus consists of 20-21 dark blotches or saddles that at their narrowest (usually the tenth blotch behind the head) are typically only 4-7 scale lengths long at midbody (Fig. 3). These dorsal body blotches are usually very dark blackish brown on a gray to pale yellow ground and typically show no light-colored centers in the area dorsal to the vertebral column. Shortly before the anus, the dorsal blotches become elongate and are almost circular in outline on the tail. These posterior dorsal blotches and their lateral counterparts are usually black-bordered with mahogany-red centers. The cream-colored ventral surface in juveniles is uniformly black-spotted overall; however, the black spots expand and coalesce as individuals grow until the adult animal is characterized by an almost uniformly black venter (Fig. 2), especially posteriorly. In very large specimens (3 meters and above), the dorsum also is invaded by black and the animal may appear melanistic overall.
Description of the holotype (Figs. 1, 2, and 3).-UMMZ 172680 is an adult female of total length 233 cm and has a complete tail. Circumferentially there are 72 neck scales, 94 scales at the level of the tenth dark dorsal blotch behind the head, and 45 scales at the anus. There are 244 ventral scutes and 49 subcaudals. The tenth dark dorsal blotch is 5 scale lengths long at its narrowest transect.
[ Holotype. -Adult female, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) 172680, total length 233 cm. Collected by Jivaro Indians in December, 1968, near the Rio Yaupi Catholic Mission upstream from the Rio Santiago in the Morona Santiago province of Ecuador. ]
Linear Mode
