Apostolepis longicaudata GOMES, 1921
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Apostolepis longicaudata?
Apostolepis longicaudata
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Piauí Blackhead, Longhead Burrowing Snake Portuguese: Cobra-da-Terra, Cobrinha-da-Terra |
| Synonym | Apostolepis longicaudata GOMES in AMARAL 1921 Apostolepis longicaudata — DE LEMA 2002 Apostolepis longicaudata — CURCIO et al. 2011 Apostolepis longicaudata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 52 Apostolepis longicaudata — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Piaui, Tocantins) Type locality: Municipio de Santa Philomena, Estado de Piauhy, Brazil. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: IBSP 1684 (not labeled in field, destroyed by fire in 2010), an adult male from Engenheiro Dodt, municipality o Santa Filomena, state of Piauı ́, northeastern Brazil, collected by Francisco de Assis I(n)glesias between 1916 and 1918 (the ‘‘n’’ in the collector’s surname is a typographic error; the correct spelling is ‘‘Iglesias’’). Originally described in 1919, by J. Florencio Gomes, formally published by Amaral (1921a). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A small species of Apostolepis, SVL up to 254 mm, differing from all congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) snout rounded or slightly acuminate, length of rostral visible from above slightly more than one-third its distance to frontal; (2) six supralabials; (3) preocular– nasal contact present (i.e., nasal and preocular not separated by prefrontal); (4) temporals absent (0+0), fifth and sixth supralabials in contact with parietals; (5) four infralabials contacting first pair of chin shields on each side of head; (6) ventrals 234–244 and subcaudals 49–52 in males (females unknown); (7) dorsal head plates uniformly dark brown, except for small irregular white blotches on anteriomedial surface of prefrontals; (8) light supralabial blotch large, covering posterior margin of third and almost whole area of fourth supralabial; (9) white and black nuchal collars completely absent; (10) five dorsal stripes similar in width (as wide as, or slightly wider than, one dorsal scale row); (11) dorsum background light tan (orange-tan in life); (12) terminal scale directed backward, mostly white, possibly invaded by black pigment from the tail band at least on its dorsal surface; (13) chin and gular region immaculate cream. |
| Comment | Conservation: very rare species, known from only a few specimens. |
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