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Geophis hoffmanni (PETERS, 1859)

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Hoffmann's Earth Snake 
SynonymColobognathus Hoffmanni PETERS 1859: 276
E(lapoides) Hoffmanni — JAN 1862: 21
Elapoides Hoffmanni — JAN 1865
Geophis hoffmanni — BOCOURT 1883: 529
Geophis hoffmanni — BOULENGER 1894: 319
Catastoma hoffmanni — AMARAL 1929: 192
Geophis hoffmani — DUNN 1942: 4 (in error)
Geophis bartholomewi BRATTSTROM & HOWELL 1954
Geophis acutirostris TAYLOR 1954: 391
Geophis hoffmanni — DOWNS 1967: 155
Geophis hoffmanni — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 120
Geophis hoffmanni — VILLA et al. 1988
Geophis hoffmanni — MYERS 2003
Geophis hoffmanni — WILSON & TOWNSEND 2007: 10
Geophis hoffmanni — WALLACH et al. 2014: 302
Geophis hoffmanni — CURLIS et al. 2020
Geophis hoffmani — BARRIO-AMORÓS et al. 2023 (in error) 
DistributionHonduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia (possibly), elevation 18-1670 m.

Type locality: Costa Rica, by implication.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: ZMB 1868 (2 specimens), 1869, 1870, 4003, 4106, BMNH 1946.1.6.54 (formerly BMNH 61.2.10.3), ZMUC 138
Holotype: CAS 91202 (was: UCLA 6163) [bartholomewi]
Holotype: KU 34670 [acutirostris] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Geophis hoffmanni is distinguished from all other Geophis found in
eNCA (except G. damiani) by having 15 dorsal scale rows present throughout the length of the body (17 dorsal scale rows in G. dunni, G. fulvoguttatus, G. nephodrymus, and G. rhodogaster). Geophis hoffmanni can be differentiated from G. damiani by having a uniform dark dorsal coloration with a pale nuchal band in juveniles (dark dorsal ground coloration with a red nuchal band and red partial bands and laterally offset red blotches in G. damiani), 114–131 ventral scales (136–143 in G. damiani), 23–32 subcaudal scales (34–41 in G. damiani), five or fewer supralabials (six in G. damiani), and posterior chinshields in moderate contact (posterior chinshields separated by first medial gular scale in G. damiani).


Additional details (57 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy that of PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970. 
EtymologyNamed after Carl Hoffman (-1859), collector of the types. 
References
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  • Barrio-Amorós, Cesar Luis, Michelle Quiroz, Cristian Porras-Ramírez, Rene Villanueva-Maldonado, Alejandro Estrada-García, Abel Batista 2023. Amphibians and reptiles encountered during an expedition to Panama. Reptiles & Amphibians 30 (1): e18359 - get paper here
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • 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
  • Boulenger, George A. 1894. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London, xi, 382 pp. - get paper here
  • Brattstrom, B. H., & HOWELL, T. R. 1954. Notes on some collections of reptiles and amphibians from Nicaragua. Herpetologica 10: 114-123. - get paper here
  • Curlis JD, Fisher EC, Muhic WK, Moy J, Garro-Cruz M, Montero-Ramírez JJ 2020. A survey of the reptiles and amphibians at the University of Georgia Costa Rica field station in San Luis de Monteverde, Costa Rica. Check List 16(6): 1433-1456 - get paper here
  • Downs, F. L. 1967. lntrageneric relations among colubrid snakes of the genus Geophis Wagler. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 131: 1-193. - get paper here
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