New Species of the Taeniophallus occipitalis Group (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Eastern Amazonia, Brazil

Abstract We describe a new species of the Taeniophallus occipitalis group from eastern Amazonia, Brazil. This species appears to be closely related to T. occipitalis from which it differs in color pattern, hemipenial morphology, and number of ventral and subcaudal scales. Characters that distinguish the new species from all other species of Taeniophallus are the following: (1) 15-15-15 or 15-15-13 rows of dorsal scales; (2) eight supralabials; (3) nine infralabials; (4) 168–192 ventral scales; (5) 64–86 subcaudal scales; and (6) distinctive hemipenial morphology (e.g., presence of a large spine in medium-basal region on the asulcate side of the organ). Taeniophallus occipitalis exhibits a wide variety of geographically restricted color patterns, as well as variation in scale counts, making the study of this snake confusing, warranting more study.