Diaphorolepis wagneri JAN, 1863
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Diaphorolepis wagneri
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Diaphorolepidini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ecuador Frog-eating Snake |
| Synonym | Diaphorolepis wagneri JAN 1863: 98 Diaphorolepis wagneri — WERNER 1901: 597 Diaphorolepis wagneri — BOGERT 1964: 513 Diaphorolepis wagneri — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 81 Diaphorolepis wagneri — SHEIL & GRANT 2001 Diaphorolepis wagneri — WALLACH et al. 2014: 227 |
| Distribution | Panama, W Ecuador Colombia (incl. Valle del Cauca) Type locality: “Andes de l’Ecuador”; restricted to Milpé, Pichincha province, Ecuador (0.035, -78.87; 1076 m elevation), by Pyron et al. 2015. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZSM 2708/0, adult (Museum of Monaco, in error fide Bogert 1964: 513; should be Munich instead of Monaco); Syntype: NMW 18915 (Werner 1901, ignoring Jan’s description) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (tribe). A group of relatively small-sized (<550mm SVL), slender, lizard-eating dipsadid snakes restricted to the Darien of Panama and northern Andes of South America, diagnosable from all other similar or related species by possessing fused prefrontals and either an expanded intervertebral scale row (Diaphorolepis) or expanded zygapophyses and neural spines in adults (Emmochliophis and Synophis; Pyron et al. 2016). Diagnosis (genus): “Oberkieferzähne 25, nach hinten an Länge zunehmend. Kopf deutlich vom Hals abgesetzt, Augen massig gross, mit runder Pupille. Nasenloch massig gross, in einem ungetheilten Nasale gelegen. Praefrontale unpaar. Körper seitlich zusammengedrückt; Schuppen gekielt, ohne Grübchen, in 19 Längsreihen; die der Mittelreihe vergrössert, sechseckig und mit zwei parallelen Längskielen. Bauch ohne Seitenkiel. Schwanz lang, mit paarigen Subcaudalen [from WERNER 1901]. Diagnosis (genus): A group of colubrid snakeswith dorsal scaleslad Description (genus). Relatively small-sized (<550mm SVL) dipsadine snakes restricted to the Darien in Panama and northern Andes of South America, with 16–25 maxillary teeth, 10–13 infralabials, 8 or 9 supralabials, fused prefrontals, internasals in contact, loreal pre- sent, 1–3 postoculars, 157–197 ventrals, 84–141 subcaudals, dorsal scales in (19–21)-19- 17 rows, and expanded vertebral scale row with weak to strong double keeling [PYRON et al. 2015]. Description (species). Relatively small-sized snakes (276–524mm SVL) with 23–25 maxillary teeth, 10–13 infralabials, 8 or 9 supralabials, 1–3 postoculars with the lower occasionally resembling a subocular and the middle occasionally resembling a temporal, fused prefrontals, internasals in contact, loreal present, incomplete nuchal collar present in juveniles (MZUTI 3322) fading ontogenetically, 181–197 ventrals, 131–141 subcaudals, (19–21)-19-17 dorsal scale rows, strong keels present on dorsal scales, and enlarged, bicarinate vertebral scale row. Uniformly cream-colored venter and dark-brown to black dorsum. Lumbar vertebrae are constricted near the middle, zygapophyses and neural spines are not expanded. The hemipenis has been briefly described (Bogert 1964), but prior to modern classifications of the organ (Zaher 1999), and needs to be examined in more detail. Ranges at low to middle elevations (~300–1600m) along the Pacific versant from the Darien in Panama to central Ecuador. |
| Comment | HILLIS 1990 incorrectly identified a Diaphorolepis wagneri as D. laevis. Type species: Diaphorolepis wagneri JAN 1863 is the type species of the genus Diaphorolepis WERNER 1901. WERNER 1901 states that JAN did not describe the genus and that the name was a nomen nudum. Type genus: Diaphorolepis Jan 1863 is the type genus of the tribe Diaphorolepidini Pyron et al. 2016 which contains Diaphorolepis Jan, 1863, Emmochliophis Fritts & Smith, 1969, Synophis Peracca, 1896. Note that "Diaphorolepidini was already described by Jenner, 1981" but her Diaphorolepidini is not an available nomen fide Pyron et al. as it was described in an unpublished PhD thesis. Taxonomy: Diaphorolepis Jan, 1863 is also the type genus of the tribus Diaphorolepidini Jenner, 1981. The tribe name has also been spelled ‘Diaphorolepini’ by Sheehy (2012), but Diaphorolepidini is the correct spelling. Pyron et al. 2015 restricted the Diaphorolepidini to the genera Diaphorolepis, Emmochliophis, and Synophis, compared to the original description (Jenner 1981), which included Atractus, Chersodromus, Crisantophis, Elapomorphus, Enulius, Gomesophis, Pseudotomodon, Ptychophis, and Sordellina. Habitat: not arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018). |
| Etymology | The species is most likely named after Moritz Wagner, not after Johann Andreas Wagner as stated in Boelens et al. (2011) [Bauer 2013, HR 44: 703]. The genus has been named after the Greek diaphoros for “differentiated” and lepis for “scales,” likely referring to the enlarged vertebral scale row as compared to the rest of the dorsal scales. |
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