Revision of the Micrurus frontalis complex (Serpentes : Elapidae)

The New World coralsnake genus Micrurus has been taxonomically problematic due to extreme variation in color pattern and highly conserved morphologica l variation. These problems are exemplified in the Micrurus frontalis "grou p", and we present a monographic revision based on an analysis of over 2100 specimens (including all available types), We recognize the following seve n species on the basis of unambiguous combinations of characters: M. altiro stris, M. baliocoryphus, M. brasiliensis, M. diana, M. frontalis, M pyrrhoc ryptus, and M. tricolor. A complete synonymy is given for each taxon, as we ll as a re-description of the holotypes. We also characterize morphological variation for each, and provide distribution maps and a key to the species .