First verified record of Mastigodryas melanolomus (Cope, 1868) (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Isla del Coral, Nayarit, Mexico

Abstract

The occurrence of the Salmon-bellied Racer, Mastigodryas melanolomus (Cope, 1868), on the Isla del Coral in the Pacific coast of Mexico is confirmed through the examination of squamation and the use of other morphological characters. Additionally, we conducted a morphological analysis to assess the differences between M. melanolomus and Masticophis lineatus (Bocourt, 1890), which was previously reported on the island. The results of our analysis suggest a possible misidentification of the previous record. Further investigations and explorations will yield additional insights about whether both species occur on Isla del Coral.

Keywords

• Insular environment
• morphology
• Pacific Ocean
• rep