Reyes-Velasco, Jacobo and Mulcahy, Daniel G. 2010. "Additional Taxonomic Remarks on the Genus Pseudoleptodeira (Serpentes: Colubridae) and the Phylogenetic Placement of "P. Uribei"." Herpetologica, 66, (1) 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1655/09-019.1.
The genus Pseudoleptodeira is Composed of two species (P. latifasciata and P. uribei) that inhabit tropical dry lowlands of western Mexico, and the genus has undergone poor taxonomic stability. it was described for the enigmatic P. latifasciata (formerly Hypsiglena), and much later a new form P. uribei was described from the town of Chamela in Jalisco, Mexico. At the time P. uribei was described, it was questioned whether it simply represented a Color morph of P. latifasciata; very few additional specimens have since been reported. Considering results of both morphological and molecular analyses from newly presented material, we revise the taxonomic status of P. uribei. Several morphological characters of P. uribei, including grooved fangs, loreal scale wider than high, immaculate ventral scales, and sublateral scale row reduction are shared with the genus Leptodeira, but not with P. latifasciata. Molecular analyses of 1429 base-pairs (I)P) of mitochondrial (cyt b, nad 4, and tRNAs His Ser) and 4150 bp of nuclear (ZEB2, NTF3, FSHR, and DNAH3) sequence data independently confirm "P. uribei" as a member of the genus Leptodeira. The results of Bayesian and parsimony phylogenetic analyses place "P. uribei" sister to Leptodeira frenata. We propose the new Combination Leptodeira uribei and restrict Pseudoleptodeira to P. latifasciata.
