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 Haitiophis Hedges & Vidal , New Genus Type species. Zamenis anomalus Peters, 1863 :282 . Diagnosis. The single species in this genus has 21 midbody scale rows, 207–215 ventrals, 113–130 subcaudals, 2 apical scale pits, 8 upper labials, 10 lower labials, 14 total maxillary teeth, and 18–19 dentary teeth ( Table 2 ). Haitiophis differs from all other genera except Alsophis in its high number (21) of midbody scales, and from Alsophis in its low number of total maxillary teeth (14 versus 18–21) and dentary teeth (18–19 versus 21–26). Content. One species, Haitiophis anomalus , is included in the genus ( Table 1 ). Distribution. The genus is distributed in Hispaniola, including Ile de la Tortue ( Haiti ) and Isla Beata ( Dominican Republic ) ( Fig. 2 ). Etymology. The generic name is derived from the Taino word Haiti (meaning high mountains) for the entire island now called Hispaniola and refers to the distribution of the genus. Remarks. The single species of Haitiophis is one of the largest snakes in the family Dipsadidae , reaching 2.8 meters in total length and 2.0 meters in SVL (Powell & Henderson 1998; Thomas et al. 2007 ) and past morphological studies have had difficulty in determining its relationship to other alsophiine species ( Maglio 1970 ; Zaher 1999 ). Our molecular evidence from the 12S and 16S rRNA genes associates H. anomalus with Caraiba and Cubophis , but more data are needed to place it in the phylogeny with confidence. Maglio (1970) also noted that the species is closer to a Cuban species ( Cubophis cantherigerus ) than any other in the West Indies—in having similar vomer, postorbital, and supratemporal bones. We classify it here in a separate genus because it differs considerably in scalation from either Caraiba or Cubophis . Zaher et al. (2009) classified this species with Borikenophis portoricensis and other West Indian species including Cubophis vudii and Cubophis cantherigerus in Ocyophis Cope , but our results ( Figs. 1 and 4 ) refute that classification (see Remarks in Hypsirhynchus ).