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Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. (www.repfocus.dk).
Latest update: December 31st, 2022.


Taxonomy of the family Colubridae
Bibliography of the genus Pseudelaphe
Biodiversity of the family Colubridae








Genus
Pseudelaphe

Mexican Rat Snakes

Mexikanische Nachtnattern

Mexicanske Rottesnoge

1943 Pseudelaphe Mertens & Rosenberg (type species: Coluber flavirufus Cope 1867)
Contents: 2 species, of which 1 (50.0%) is endemic.
Endemism: 0% 100%
Remarks: Previously included in the genus Elaphe (e.g., Schulz 1996). Revalidated by Utiger, Helfenberger, Schätti, Schmidt, Ruf & Ziswiler (2002).
Distribution: E. Mexico, N. Central America.
Reported from: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras (incl. Islas de la Bahia [Guanaja, Roatan, Utila]), Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan), Nicaragua (incl. Islas del Maiz [Isla Grande del Maiz]).

Pseudelaphe flavirufa

Mexican Rat Snake, Red-blotched Rat Snake, Yellow-red Rat Snake, Tropical Rat Snake, (Mexican Night Snake)

Mexikanische Nachtnatter

Mexicansk Rødplettet Rottesnog

1867 Coluber flavirufus Cope
Elaphe flavirufa Gaige 1936
Pseudelaphe flavirufa Utiger, Helfenberger, Schätti, Schmidt, Ruf & Ziswiler 2002
1868 Elaphis pardalinus Peters
Elaphe flavirufa pardalina Dowling 1952
1887 Elaphis rodriguezii Bocourt (Peters & Orejas-Miranda 1970)
1941 Elaphe flavirufa matudai Smith
Pseudelaphe flavirufa matudai Utiger, Helfenberger, Schätti, Schmidt, Ruf & Ziswiler 2002 [by implication]
1966 Elaphe flavirufa polysticha Smith & Williams (Schulz 1996)

Other common names:
flavirufa: Northern Mexican Rat Snake, Tamaulipan Rat Snake, Northern Mexican Night Snake
matudai: Escuintla Rat Snake, Escuintla Night Snake, (Matuda's Rat Snake)
pardalina: Central American Rat Snake, Honduran Rat Snake, Honduran Night Snake
polysticha: Roatan Island Rat Snake
Remarks: Previously included phaescens. A single record from the Nicaraguan mainland (Campbell & Howell 1965) refers to Senticolis triaspis mutabilis (Villa, Wilson & Johnson 1988, Schulz 1996).
Distribution: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras (incl. Islas de la Bahia [Guanaja, Roatan, Utila]), Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz), Nicaragua (incl. Islas del Maiz [Isla Grande del Maiz]).


Pseudelaphe phaescens

Yucatan Rat Snake, Yucatan Night Snake

Yucatan-Nachtnatter

Yucatan-rottesnog

1952 Elaphe flavirufa phaescens Dowling
Elaphe phaescens Liner 1994
Pseudelaphe phaescens Flores-Villela & Marquez 2004

Remarks: Sometimes regarded as a subspecies of flavirufa (e.g., Lee 1996; Wallach, Williams & Boundy 2014), but treated as a separate species in many recent works (e.g., Smith & Taylor 1966; Liner 1994, 2007; Flores-Villela & Marquez 2004; Liner & Casas-Andreu (eds.) 2008; Wilson & Johnson 2010). Validity as a separate species supported by Dahn, Strickland, Osorio, Colston & Parkinson (2018).
Distribution: Mexico (Campeche, Quintana Roo, Yucatan).