Geophis nephodrymus TOWNSEND & WILSON, 2006

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Higher Taxa	Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Geophis nephodrymus TOWNSEND & WILSON 2006 Geophis nephodrymus — WILSON & TOWNSEND 2007: 14 Geophis nephodrymus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 304
Distribution	NW Honduras (Sierra de Omoa, Cortés) Type locality: Sendero Las Minas (15°29.525’N, 88°12.705’W), 1580 m elevation, Parque Nacional El Cusuco, Cortés, Honduras
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: UF 142577, a female, Florida State Museum of Natural History collected 11 July 2004 by S. M. Hughes and J. H. Townsend.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Geophis nephodrymus has 17 dorsal scale rows throughout the body, distinguishing it from all members of the championi group (G. championi, G. downsi, G. godmani, and G. ruthveni) and semidoliatus group (G. cancellatus, G. juliai, G. laticinctus, and G. semidoliatus), and some members of the chalybeus (G. dugesii, G. nigrocinctus, and G. tarascae), omiltemanus (G. incomptus and G. maculiferus), and sieboldi (G. bellus, G. betaniensis, G. brachycephalus, G. damiani, G. hoffmanni, G. laticollaris, G. nigroalbus, G. petersii, G. russatus, G. ruthveni, G. sallaei, G. talamancae, and G. zeledoni) groups that have only 15 dorsal scale rows throughout the body. Of the remaining members of the chalybeus group, G. bicolor differs from G. nephodrymus in having 2 postocular scales (only 1 postocular in G. nephodrymus), and G. chalybeus has more ventrals (154–155) and subcaudals (38–41) than does G. nephodrymus (120–138 and 22–32, respectively). Geophis nephodrymus is separated from the members of the sieboldi group that possess 17 dorsal scale rows (G. dunni, G. nasalis, G. pyburni, and G. sieboldi), and from some members of the dubius group (G. carinosus, G. juarezi, and G. rostralis) by having smooth dorsal scales throughout the length of the body (dorsal scales keeled on at least the posterior part of the body in those species). Geophis nephodrymus differs from most of the members of the latifrontalis group (G. latifrontalis and G. mutitorques) and the members of the omiltemanus group that have 17 dorsal scale rows (G. isthmicus and G. omiltemanus) by lacking an anterior temporal (anterior temporal present in latifrontalis group [except G. blanchardi] and omiltemanus group). Geophis blanchardi differs from G. nephodrymus by having more ventrals (150–166 versus 120–138 in G. nephodrymus) and usually 7 infralabials (usually 6 infralabials in G. nephodrymus). Of the remaining species in the dubius group, G. nephodrymus can be differentiated from G. dubius by having internasals that are distinct from the prefrontals (internasals usually fused to prefrontals in G. dubius), from G. anocularis, G. duellmani, and G. rhodogaster by having one supraocular and one postocular (supraocular and postocular absent in G. anocularis and G. duellmani; supraocular absent in G. rhodogaster), from G. immaculatus by having a dark coloration on chin and lateral edges of ventrals (chin and ventral scales immaculate in G. immaculatus), and from G. fulvoguttatus by usually having fewer ventrals (120–138) and a lower segmental count (149–160)(G. fulvoguttatus with 135–157 ventrals, segmental count 171–181) [from TOWNSEND 2006].
Comment	Distribution: see map in CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ et al. 2016: 133 (Fig. 1).
Etymology	Named after “nephodrymus”, derived from the Greek words nephos, meaning cloud, and drymos, meaning forest, in reference to the cloud forest habitat where this species is found.
References	Canseco-Márquez L, Pavón-Vázquez CJ, López-Luna MA, Nieto-Montes de Oca A 2016. A new species of earth snake (Dipsadidae, Geophis) from Mexico. ZooKeys 610: 131-145. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.610.8605 - get paper here Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp. Laking AE, Solís JM, Brown T, Maddock ST, Burdekin O, Taylor P, Lonsdale G, Green SEW, Martin TE, Galdamez JR, Kolby JE, Erens J, Jocque M 2024. The amphibians and reptiles of Cusuco National Park, Northwest Honduras: updates from a long-term conservation programme. In: Lipińska M, Lopez-Selva MM, Sierra JM (Eds) Biodiversity research in Central America. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 19(2): 37-62 - get paper here McCranie J R 2011. The snakes of Honduras. SSAR, Salt Lake City, 725 pp. McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here Solís, J. M., L. D. Wilson, and J. H. Townsend. 2014. An updated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with comments on their nomenclature. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1: 123–144 - get paper here Townsend, J. H. 2006. INVENTORY AND CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT OF THE HERPETOFAUNA OF THE SIERRA DE OMOA, HONDURAS, WITH A REVIEW OF THE Geophis (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE) OF EASTERN NUCLEAR CENTRAL AMERICA. PhD thesis, University of Florida, 138 pp. Townsend, J.H.; Wilson, L.D. 2006. A new species of snake of the Geophis dubius group (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) from the sierra de Omoa of northwestern Honduras. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 119 (1): 150–159. - get paper here Townsend, Josiah H. 2009. MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN GEOPHIS NEPHODRYMUS (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE), WITH COMMENTS ON CONSERVATION OF GEOPHIS IN EASTERN NUCLEAR CENTRAL AMERICA. Herpetologica 65 (3): 292-302 - 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. WILSON, L.D. & J.H. TOWNSEND 2007. A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation. Zootaxa 1395: 1-31 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List http://www.opwall.com/Library/Honduras/Honduras%20Terrestrial/Herpetofauna… Google images

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