Rediscovery of Apostolepis niceforoi Amaral, 1935 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Elapomorphini)

Abstract. Apostolepis is a speciose Neotropical snake genus, encompassing 38 species, widely distributed in South America. Most species of the genus are known based on small series, which has contributed to a convoluted taxonomic history. In this study, we report the rediscovery of Apostolepis niceforoi, a taxon that remained known from a single specimen since its original description in 1935, providing a detailed redescription, with comments on putatively close congeners, as well as taxonomic misidentifications related to this species. Key Words: Caenophidia; Colombia; Neotropical; Taxonomy.O.M. Entiauspe-Neto thanks CNPQ for a PIBIC grant (136628/2016-8). We thank Martha L. Calderon, curator of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, for allowing us to examine the specimens under her care. We thank Juan David Fernández for taking photographs of the full body of the preserved specimen, and Weverton A.S. Azevedo for helping us in the preparation of the plates. Editor Pier Cacciali and two anonymous reviewers, for their contributions, suggestions, and corrections. TBG thanks the Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (Senior Researcher fellowship