Molecular phylogeny, classification, and biogeography of West Indian racer snakes of the Tribe Alsophiini (Squamata, Dipsadidae, Xenodontinae) Author Hedges, Blair Author Couloux, Arnaud Author Vidal, Nicolas text Zootaxa 2009 2067 1 28 journal article 10.5281/zenodo.187018 35d81ccb-1856-4852-a5b6-d9058b3dbc0b 1175-5326 187018 Genus Magliophis Zaher et al., 2009 Type species. Dromicus exiguus Cope, 1862 [1863]:79. Diagnosis. Species in this genus have 19 midbody scale rows, 137–165 ventrals, 71–102 subcaudals, no apical scale pits, eight upper labials, and nine lower labials ( Table 2 ). Magliophis differs from each of the other alsophiine genera in at least one of those characters. Content. Two species (three species + subspecies) are included in the genus ( Table 1 ). Distribution. Species of Magliophis are distributed throughout the Puerto Rican Bank ( Fig. 2 ). Remarks. Species of Magliophis ( Fig. 3 F) are small racers ( 438 mm , maximum snout-vent length, SVL) that occur sympatrically with the larger racers of the Genus Borikenophis on the Puerto Rican Bank. The two included species were previously placed in the Genus Arrhyton . The phylogenetic trees ( Figs. 1 and 4 ) show that Magliophis stahli is quite divergent from M. exiguus , which agrees with morphology ( Schwartz 1967 ) and supports its recognition as a distinct species rather than subspecies. Zaher et al. (2009) described this genus based on hemipenial characters in the species M. exiguus . Oddly, that species was omitted from their molecular phylogeny even though it was present in the data set of Vidal et al (2000) , and corresponding sequences were available in GenBank.