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Amastridium sapperi (WERNER, 1903)

IUCN Red List - Amastridium sapperi - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rusty-headed Snake
S: Zacatera Negra 
SynonymMimometopon sapperi WERNER 1903: 349
Amastridium sapperi — DUNN 1924
Amastridium sapperi — SMITH 1944
Amastridium sapperi — MARTIN 1958
Amastridium sapperi — STUART 1963 (fide VILLA et al. 1988)
Amastridium sapperi — SMITH 1971
Amastridium sapperi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 24 
DistributionN Honduras, C Guatemala, S Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Veracruz, Tamaulipas), Belize (IUCN)

Type locality: “Guatemala”  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: ZSM (destroyed 24-25 April 1944 during World War II). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: The species (northern populations formerly considered as A. veliferum) are characterized by having a separate loreal and much higher segmental counts (ventrals 146 to 158 in males, 144 to 170 in females; subcaudals 84 to 86 in males, 79 to 85 in females; ventrals plus subcaudals 229 to 250). These differences and the substantial range gap (650 km) between the nearest records of A. veliferum in extreme southeastern Nicaragua and putative A. sapperi from western Honduras lead Savage 2002 to accept Smith's interpretation of A. sapperi being a valid species.


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CommentSynonymy: PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 listed this species as a synonym of Amastridium veliferum. Smith (1971) maintained that the northern populations constitute a separate species, Amastridium sapperi Werner, 1903 (see diagnosis). 
EtymologyNamed after “Professor Sapper” who collected the specimens in Guatemala 
References
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  • Blair, W. E. 1978. Additional specimens of Amastridium veliferum Cope (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Chiapas, México. Southwestern Naturalist 23: 692. - get paper here
  • Boettger, O. 1898. Katalog der Reptilien-Sammlung im Museum der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Frankfurt/M. 2.Teil (Schlangen). [type catalogue] Frankfurt/M (Gebr. Knauer), i-ix + 1-160. - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1905. Descriptions of new snakes in the collection of the British Museum. Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (7) 15 (89): 453-456 - get paper here
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  • Dunn, E. R. 1924. Amastridium - a neglected genus of snakes. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 65 (11): 1-3. - get paper here
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