HEMORRHOIS HIPPOCREPIS NIGRESCENS (CATTANEO, 1985) (Serpentes Colubridae), SOTTOSPECIE VALIDA PER IL 'CLADE' ORIENTALE DELLA SPECIE

Hemorrhois hippocrepis nigrescens (Cattaneo, 1985) (Serpentes Colubridae), valid subspecies for
the eastern ‘clade’ of the species. The validity of the Hemorrhois hippocrepis nigrescens (Cattaneo, 1985)
from Pantelleria Island is regarded as doubtful by some authors. For this reason, the diagnostic fea
tures
of the isle of Pantelleria population were compared with those from other known populations;
this allowed to confirm the subspecificity validity for the eastern ‘clade’ of the species. Furthermore,
a preliminary nomenclature to distinguish the two lineages that the species shows within its range is
proposed: H. h. hippocrepis for the westernmost clade and H. h. nigrescens for the easternmost one.