Amnisiophis amoenus (JAN, 1863)
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Amnisiophis amoenus
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae, Echinantherini), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | E. [nicognathus] amoenus JAN 1863: 270 Enicognathus amoenus — JAN 1866 Aporophis amoenus — BOULENGER 1894 Lygophis amoenus — AMARAL 1929: 169 Lygophis amoenus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 185 Liophis amoenus Incertae sedis — DIXON 1980 Echinanthera amoenus — DI BERNARDO 1992 Echinanthera amoena — SCHARGEL et al. 2005 Echinanthera amoena — WALLACH et al. 2014: 253 Echinanthera amoena — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 Amnisiophis amoenus — ABEGG et al. 2022 |
| Distribution | SE Brazil (from S Minas Gerais to S Paraná; Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro) Type locality: "Patria?" [=Unknown]. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: MSNM, a 590 mm specimen. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): “Amnisiophis amoenus can be distinguished by (1) usually eight supralabials, with 2nd–3rd touching the loreal and 3rd–5th touching the orbit; (2) 17/17/17 dorsal scale rows, usually with one or two apical pits; (3) a dorsal color that shifts from green on the back of the head and first third of the body to brown on the midbody and dark brown on the posterior part;(4)midventralportionwithtransversebandsatthebase of the ventral scales, especially observable in adults; (5) dorsal scales of the 3rd row with a light spot forming a continuous line from the anterior part of the body toward the tail; (6) hemipenis slightly bilobed, with an interspinal asulcate gap and absence of an enlarged proximal spine; (7) supratemporals usually contact parietal; (8) dorsolateral crests of the parietal conspicuous and abruptly tapered in the posterior region, close to the contact with supraoccipital; (9) parabasisfenoid lateral crests conspicuous; (10) large number of maxillary (27–33), palatine (20–21), pterygoid (31–33) and dentary teeth (34–36) (Figures 3D, 5G, 7B, 8A and Table 1).” (Abegg et al. 2022) Additional details (168 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | belongs to the “Rhadinaea brevirostris group” sensu Myers (1974) Type species: E. [nicognathus] amoenus JAN 1863: 270 is the type species of the genus Amnisiophis Abegg et al. 2022. |
| Etymology | Named after Latin “amoenus” = pleasing or lovely. The genus was named after the Latin word amnis (stream of water, river) and the Greek word oφις (ophis =snake) (Liddell and Scott, 1883; Brown, 1954). This name was chosen in reference to the habit of the monotypic species A. amoenus, whose individuals inhabit the margins of forest streams. The genus name is masculine. |
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