Fig. 15. A in New Taxa And Cryptic Species Of Neotropical Snakes (Xenodontinae), With Commentary On Hemipenes As Generic And Specific Characters

Fig. 15. A. Taeniophallus nicagus (Cope). This small Brazilian snake resembles Eutrachelophis in having 15 dorsal scale rows and an ocellar nuchal pattern. It differs in hemipenial characters from closely related congeners and from all other xenodontines (and nearly all dipsadines) in having an unforked sulcus spermaticus. B. Taeniophallus occipitalis (Jan), a Brazilian specimen. This species displays considerable variation in the head and nuchal color pattern, sometimes resembling T. nicagus above (cf., T. occipitalis in Myers, 1974: fig. 48) (photographs by Marcio Martins).