Dipsas cisticeps (BOETTGER, 1885)
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Dipsas cisticeps
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Neotropical Snail-eater |
| Synonym | Leptognathus (Dipsadomorus) [sic] cisticeps BOETTGER 1885: 237 Dipsas cisticeps — BERTONI 1914: 29 Dipsas indica cisticeps — PETERS 1960: 78 Dipsas indica cisticeps — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 87 Dipsas bucephala cisticeps — HARVEY & EMBERT 2008: 64 Dipsas cisticeps — CACCIALI et al. 2016 Dipsas cisticeps — ATKINSON et al. 2017 |
| Distribution | E Bolivia (Cochabamba, Santa Cruz), NW Argentina, W Paraguay Type locality: Paraguay |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype: unlocated, not in SMF (Pier Cacciali and Sebastian Lotzkat, pers. comm., 1 Aug 2017). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The following combination of characters distinguishes Dipsas bucephala from all congeners: (1) dorsals 13, usually without reduction or with reduction to 11 relatively close to vent; (2) temporals excluded from orbit by postoculars; (3) usually two pairs of infralabials in contact behind mental; (4) infralabials broadly contacting second pair of chinshields or sublabials occasionally (22% of the time) separating infralabials and second pair of chinshields; (5) loreal square, entering orbit; (6) preocular present above loreal, excluding prefrontal from orbit; (7) dorsal head scales with few large brown spots edged in yellow; (8) labials immaculate or with scattered black marks not concentrated at dorsal apices of scales or forming regular bars; (9) nuchal collar tan to light gray; first blotch not reaching rictus and separated from parietals by 4–8 vertebrals; (10) dorsum tan to light gray with darker markings narrowly edged first in yellow then in dark brown; body blotches, and often interspaces, with row of subcircular cream to yellow spots, at least anteriorly; (11) dorsal blotches incomplete ventrally; widest at paraventrals, longer than interspaces over most of body; usually not forming bands anteriorly; (12) interspaces mostly immaculate dorsally; large dark brown accessory blotch of paraventral region fusing to varying degrees with body blotches; (13) paraventral pattern extending onto venter, center of venter mostly immaculate or with narrow longitudinal line; (14) ventrals 169–194; (15) subcaudals 77–107; (16) maxillary teeth 14–15 (Harvey & Embert 2008: 64). Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2646 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Distribution: not confirmed in Brazil fide Nogueira et al. 2019 although sometimes reported from Mato Grosso. |
| Etymology | Named after Greek cistis (κύστις), the bladder + Latin -ceps, -headed. [?. Perhaps “...oculis prominentioribus...”]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024) |
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