Morphology and distribution of the South American snake Chironius leucometapus (Serpentes: Colubridae)

Abstract

Chironius leucometapus was described more than 25 years ago as subspecies of C. fuscus from restricted area in the Department of Junín in central Peru, with no additional specimens reported since. Examination of 17 new specimens reveals that C. leucometapus is widespread along the Amazonian slopes of the Andes between central Peru and northern Ecuador. New morphological data including scalation, hemipenes, color in life, and the first description of the skull of Chironius to be based on high-quality CT-scan images are presented. The number of species of Chironius from Ecuador is elevated to eight.