Color variation in <i>Apostolepis nigrolineata</i> (Serpentes, Colubridae: Dipsadinae: Elapomorphini), and contribution to the knowledge of the <i>nigrolineata</i> group

Abstract

Color variation in A. nigrolineata was observed after examination of a large sample . The juveniles have five-stripes, lower sides yellowish cream, snout white, several white blotches on the supralabials and nuchal region and region with the white collar in other species. The adults become dark, and the paravertebrals fade and eventually disappear; the lower sides become blackish, sometimes forming a stripe under the pleural strip; the snout also darkens and becomes blackish; the supralabial blotches are reduced to one, small, oval, or trapezoidal, under the eye; the nuchal blotches are also reduced to a pair of oval blotches. The background coloration varies from brown to reddish during development. Juveniles from western Maranhão and adjacent areas of Pará are generally darker.