Coniophanes fissidens (GÜNTHER, 1858)
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Coniophanes fissidens
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | Coniophanes fissidens convergens SHANNON & SMITH 1949 Coniophanes fissidens dispersus SMITH 1941 Coniophanes fissidens fissidens (GÜNTHER 1858) Coniophanes fissidens proterops (COPE 1860) Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis (COPE 1860) |
| Common Names | E: Yellowbelly Snake S: Panza Amarilla E: Eduardo’s forest snake [eduardoi] S: Hojarasquera de Eduardo [eduardoi] |
| Synonym | Coronella fissidens GÜNTHER 1858: 36 Coniophanes fissidens — COPE 1860: 248 Tachymenis fissidens — GARMAN 1884: 62 Erythrolamprus fissidens — ANDERSSON 1901: 23 Coniophanes fissidens obsoletus MINTON et al. 1960 Coniophanes fissidens — VILLA et al. 1988 Coniophanes fissidens — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 67 Coniophanes fissidens — LINER 1994 Coniophanes fissidens — SAVAGE 2002 Coniophanes fissidens — MATA-SILVA et al. 2015 Coniophanes fissidens — WALLACH et al. 2014: 176 Rhadinaea eduardoi MATA-SILVA et al. 2019 Coniophanes fissidens — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023 Coniophanes fissidens convergens SHANNON & SMITH 1949 Coniophanes fissidens convergens — LINER 2007 Coniophanes fissidens dispersus SMITH 1941 Coniophanes fissidens dispersus SMITH 1941: 106 Coniophanes fissidens dispersus — LINER 2007 Coniophanes fissidens fissidens (GÜNTHER 1858) Coronella fissidens GÜNTHER 1858: 36 Coniophanes fissidens fissidens — BAILEY 1939: 14 Coniophanes fissidens fissidens — LINER 2007 Coniophanes fissidens proterops (COPE 1860) C[oniophanes] proterops COPE 1860: 249 Tachymenis proterops — GARMAN 1884: 62 Coniphanes imperialis proterops — COPE 1900: 1097 Coniphanes fissidens proterops — TAYLOR 1949: 210 Coniophanes fissidens proterops — LINER 2007 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis (COPE 1860) Coniophanes punctigularis COPE 1860: 248 Dromicus chitalonensis MÜLLER 1878: 407 Coniophanes punctigularis — MÜLLER 1880 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis — SMITH 1941: 107 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis — MERTENS 1952: 60 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis — LIVEZEY & PECKHAM 1953 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 67 Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis — LINER 2007 |
| Distribution | Mexico (Veracruz, Puebla, Chiapas, Quéretaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, NW Ecuador, Peru, Colombia [Castro,F. (pers. comm.)]; elevation (Honduras): 800-990 m convergens: Mexico (Veracruz); Type locality: Mexico: 6 mi NW Tihuatlan, near Castillo de Teayo, Veracruz; W.L. Burger; April 20, 1949. dispersus: Mexico (Guerrero, Michoacan, probably south to Oaxaca); Type locality: El Limoncito, Guerrero. eduardoi (invalid): Mexico (Oaxaca); Type locality: Mexico, Oaxaca, municipality of Santa Catarina Juquila, El Obispo, 1,320 m (UTM 681141.99, 1789988.05 [= 16.183573, -97.305614, datum WGS 84] fissidens: Type locality: “Mexico”. obsoletus (invalid): Costa Rica; Type locality: Costa Rica: 1 mi E Volcan de Buenos Aires, Puntarenas; Sherman A. Minton, Jr.; July 22, 1957. proterops: Mexico (Veracruz); Type locality: vicinity of Jalapa, Veracruz. punctigularis: Mexico (Chiapas, isthmus of Tehuantepec), Guatemala, to Honduras; Type locality: Honduras. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.9.61; BMNH 1946.1.3.2-3 (Coniophanes fissidens proterops - Two of the types of C. fissidens) Holotype: ANSP 3742 [punctigularis] Holotype: INHS (= UIMNH) 3821 [convergens] Holotype: INHS (= UIMNH) 46573 [obsoletus] Holotype: USNM 5285 [proterops] Holotype: FMNH 100130 [dispersus] Holotype. CH-CIB 5457 (given as CIB = Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico, original field number VMS-2029), a subadult male, collected by Eduardo Mata-Silva on 6 June 2018 at 1800 hrs (Fig. 1) [eduardoi] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Small to medium-sized xenodontine snakes; body moderate with proportionate tail; head distinct from neck. Dorsal scales smooth, without pits, in 17 to 25 rows reducing one to four times by the loss of the paravertebral rows (rarely the last reduction, third or fourth, takes place by loss of the third lateral rows). Anal and subcaudals divided. Head scales normal in number and arrangement; nasal divided or semidivided; 1 or 2 pre- and 2 postoculars; temporals 1-2; upper labials 7 or 8 (rarely 9). Pupil of eye round. Maxillary teeth 8 to 15, subequal, followed by a gap and 1 or 2 moderately enlarged grooved fangs; mandibular and palatine teeth subequal. The generalized color pattern consists of a dark middorsal stripe and a dark lateral stripe on either side on a grayish brown ground. Various modifications occur. A light stripe through the upper labials is present, and there is usually at least a faint trace of a light temporal stripe through the top of the eye. (Hemipenes described subsequently) (from Bailey 1939: 4). Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 12897 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Relative abundance in Honduras: infrequent Distribution: this species has been reported from Peru, but without specific locality (T. Doan, pers. comm. 30 Apr 2012). Not in Yucatan state (Mexico), fide Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. 2017. Not in Nayarit fide WOOLRICH-PIÑA et al. 2016 (who only report C. lateritius). Type species: Coronella fissidens GÜNTHER 1858 is the type species of the genus Coniophanes HALLOWELL in COPE 1860: 248. Synonymy: Bailey 1937 pointed out that the type of proterops is “a specimen of fissidens” without formally synonymizing the two. Palacios-Aguilar & García-Vázquez 2020 synonymized Rhadinaea eduardoi MATA-SILVA et al. 2019 with C. fissidens. Kaiser et al. 2013 rejected the subgeneric names Cottonserpens Hoser 2012, Daraninserpens Hoser 2012, Laidlawserpens Hoser 2012, Smythserpens Hoser 2012 invalid and rejected their use instead of Coniophanes. Key: Myers 1969 has a key to the “southern” species of Coniophanes (bipunctatus, fissifens, piceivittis, joanae, and dromiciformis). Dunn 1932 has a key to the genera Rhadinaea, Dromicus, Alsophis, Leimadophis, and Liophis. |
| Etymology | Named after the Latin words fissus, a suffix denoting a division into two parts, and dens, meaning "tooth." (Lemos-Espinal & Dixon 2013). Coniophanes fissidens convergens was named after Latin convergo, convergere, incline together. [“…A race of Coniophanes fissidens related to C. f. proterops and similar to C. f. dispersus…”]. Coniophanes fissidens dispersus was named after Latin dispersus, scatter (about), disperse. [“...spots on belly small, scattered, not forming regular series…]. Coniophanes fissidens proterops was named after Greek proteros (πρότερος), before, in front + Greek ops (οπς), eye. [“...One pre- two postoculars…”]. Coniophanes fissidens punctigularis was named after Latin puncti, point; dot/spot + Latin gularis, pertaining to a throat, neck, gullet. [“...Lips and throat yellowish-white, densely punctulated with brown…”]. Rhadinaea eduardoi was named in honor of Eduardo Mata-Silva, collector of the holotype. Eduardo is the younger brother of the senior author of the paper, is a resident of Río Grande, Oaxaca, and was a highly valued member of the field crew working in Oaxaca. He also outshined the rest of the crew when it came to finding snakes, as evidenced by his discovery of the holotype of the snake. The genus name is derived from the Greek words konio, meaning "dust" and phano, meaning "appearance." The specific name is derived from the Latin words fissus, a suffix denoting a division into two parts, and dens, meaning "tooth" (Lemos-Espinal & Dixon 2013). |
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