Boa latotecta Hermann, 1804, a junior subjective synonym of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) (Serpentes, Elapidae), with comments on the types of the latter taxon

The Musée zoologique de Strasbourg (MZS) holds the late 18th century collection of Jean Hermann. Among the herpetological specimens we discovered a specimen that Hermann had described as Boa latotecta in a posthumous publication edited by his son-in-law Frédéric-Louis Hammer. Morphometrics and an examination of pholidosis facilitated comparisons with its original description and with relevant species included in the genus Bungarus Daudin, 1803. We conclude that MZS Oph0612 is unequivocally the holotype by monotypy of Boa latotecta Hermann, 1804 and that the binomen is a junior synonym of Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801). We also add some clarifications about the composition of the type series of the latter taxon.