A New Species of the formosus Group of the Lizard Genus Sceloporus

Abstract

It will be noticed that although the relationship between centrum length and body length is linear one, the relationship between CL/CW and body length is not. Centrum width increases faster than centrum length as body size increases. This is necessary because the width of vertebra determines its resistance to compression stress. The stress that the vertebra must endure is function of body weight. Thus, centrum width is function of body weight, while centrum length is function of body length. It will be recalled that body weight increases faster than body length (WbaLb3). All of the evidence indicates that the holotypic vertebra of Crotalus giganteus is midbody vertebra. Based on relationship between mid-body vertebral length and snake body length derived from examination of four species of Crotalus, the type of C. giganteus came from snake approximately 1.9 meters long. Klauber (1973) gives the maximum known length of C. adamanteus as 2.2 meters. Neill (1961) records a few C. adamanteus received at Ross Allen's Reptile Institute that exceeded 2.1 meters in length. Thus, the largest known specimen of Crotalus giganteus, the holotype (see Auffenberg, 1963), was no larger than some specimens of Recent Crotalus adamanteus. The name Crotalus giganteus Brattstrom should be referred to the synonymy of Crotalus adamanteus Beauvois. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS