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Atractus dunni SAVAGE, 1955

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Dunn's Ground Snake
S: Culebra minadora de Dunn 
SynonymAtractus dunni SAVAGE 1955: 14 (nom. subst. pro Rabdosoma maculatum BOCOURT 1883)
Rhabdosoma maculatum BOCOURT 1883: 539
Atractus badius — BOULENGER 1894: 308 (in part)
Atractus dunni — PETERS et al. 1970: 28
Atractus dunni — CISNEROS-HEREDIA 2005
Atractus dunni — WALLACH et al. 2014: 71 
DistributionEcuador, elevation 1530 to 1900 m [provinces of Imbabura (surroundings of Intag), Pichincha (Río Guajalito Protection Forest, La Favorita Reserve, and Bellavista Lodge near Tandayapa), and Cotopaxi (Las Pampas)]

Type locality: Ecuador  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 5986 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A species closely related to Atractus gaigeae, but distinguished from that form and other Ecuadorian Atractus as follows: (1) 17 scale rows; (2) long loreal; (3) maxillary teeth not known, probably less than nine; (4) ventrals in female holotype, 144, probably about 10 fewer in males; and (5) pattern of five longitudinal dark stripes and two series of spots [from SAVAGE 1960]. 
CommentDistribution: Not in Peru fide CISNEROS-HEREDIA 2005.

Atractus dunni is a highly variable species in terms of its coloration, having ontogenic and intraspecific variation. However, the differences between A. lehmanni Boettger, 1898 and A. dunni are subtle.

Similar species: A. lehmanni, microrhynchus, occidentalis (for examples of misidentifications see Passos et al. 2022). 
EtymologyNamed after Emmett Reid Dunn (1894-1956) [obituary in Schmidt 1957: 75]. 
References
  • Arteaga AF, Bustamante-Enríquez LM and Guayasamin JM 2013. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo. http://www.tropicalherping.com - get paper here
  • Averill-Murray, R.C. & Averill-Murray, A. 2017. Atractus dunni (Sleepy Groundsnake) Maximum size. Herpetological Review 48 (3): 665. - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Bocourt, M. F. 1883. In A. Duméril, M. F. Bocourt, and F. Mocquard, (1870-1909), Etudes sur les reptiles, p. i-xiv, 1-1012. In Recherches Zoologiques pour servir a l'Histoire de Ia Faune de l'Amérique Centrale et du Mexique. Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans l'Amér Imprimerie Impériale, Paris - get paper here
  • Carrera, C. et al. 2009. Guía de Campo de los Pequeños Vertebrados del Distrito Metropolitano de Quito (DMQ). Publicación Miscelánea N° 5. Serie de Publicaciones del Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales (MECN) – Fondo Ambiental del MDMQ. 1-89 pp. Imprenta Nuevo Arte. Quito-Ecuador.
  • Cisneros-Heredia D.F. 2005. Rediscovery of the Ecuadorian snake Atractus dunni Savage, 1955 (Serpentes: Colubridae. Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series 174 (1-4): 87-94
  • PASSOS P, MELO-SAMPAIO PR, RAMOS LO, GRAZZIOTIN FG, FOUQUET A & TORRES-CARVAJAL O. 2022. When the tail shakes the snake: phylogenetic affinities and morphology of Atractus badius (Serpentes: Dipsadidae), reveals some current pitfalls on the snake’s genomic age. An Acad Bras Cienc 94: e20191254 - get paper here
  • Savage, Jay M. 1955. Descriptions of new colubrid snakes, genus Atractus, from Ecuador. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 68: 11-20 - get paper here
  • Savage,J.M. 1960. A revision of the Ecuadorian snakes of the colubrid genus Atractus. Misc. Publ. Zool. Univ. Michigan 112: 1-86 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, K.P. 1957. Emmett Reid Dunn, 1894-1956. Copeia 1957 (2): 75-77 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
 
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