Epictia phenops (COPE, 1875)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Epictia phenops?
Epictia phenops
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| Higher Taxa | Leptotyphlopidae, Epictinae, Epictini, Typhlopoidea, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Slinder Threadsnake S: Agujilla |
| Synonym | Stenostoma phenops COPE 1875: 129 Stenostoma phenops COPE 1876: 128 (fide HAHN 1980) Stenostoma phaenops — COPE 1879: 271 Stenostoma albifrons — BOCOURT in DUMÉRIL et al. 1882: 505 (part) Stenostoma phaenops — FERRARI-PEREZ 1886 Glauconia albifrons — BOULENGER 1893: 63 (part) Leptotyphlops albifrons — AMARAL 1930: 138 (part) Leptotyphlops albifrons — GAIGE 1936: 298 Leptotyphlops bakewelli — OLIVER 1937: 17 (in part) Leptotyphlops phenops — SMITH 1939: 28 Leptotyphlops phenops phenops — SMITH 1943: 444 Leptotyphlops ater phenops — DUNN & SAXE 1950: 159 Leptotyphlops phenops phenops — MERTENS 1952 Leptotyphlops goudotii goudotii — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 169 Leptotyphlops goudotii phenops — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 170 Leptotyphlops phenops — WILSON & HAHN 1973: 120 Leptotyphlops goudoti phenops — HENDERSON & HOEVERS 1975: 32 Leptotyphlops goudoti — FERGUSON 1977: 497 Leptotyphlops goudoti — HAHN 1979: 230.2–3 (part) Leptotyphlops goudotii phenops — HAHN 1980: 15 Leptotyphlops bakewelli — HAHN 1980: 15. Leptotyphlops gadowi — HAHN 1980: 16 Leptotyphlops goudotii bakewelli — HAHN 1980: 15. Leptotyphlops phenops bakewelli — HAHN 1980: 16. Leptotyphlops pheonops (sic) — HIMMELSTEIN 1980: 33 Leptotyphlops goudotii — HARTSHORN 1984: 145 Leptotyphlops goudoti phenops — PEREZ-HIGAREDA & SMITH 1986 Leptotyphlops goudotti (sic) — VILLA et al. 1988: 85 (part) Leptotyphlops goudotti (sic) phenops — PÉREZ-HIGAREDA & SMITH 1991: 28(part) Leptotyphlops goudotti phenops — PÉREZ-HIGAREDA & SMITH 1991: 28 Leptotyphlops gaudoti (sic) — CASAS-ANDREU et al. 1996: 34 (part) Leptothyphlops (sic) goudotti (sic) — IUCN 1999: 37 Leptotyphlops goudotii phenops — LEE 2000 Leptotyphlops goudottii (sic) — FUNDE 2004: 8 Epictia goudotii — ADALSTEINSSON et al. 2009:10) (in part) Epictia phenops — PINTO et al. 2010: 22) (in part) Epictia ater — MCCRANIE 2011:43) (in part) Epictia goudotti phenops — PINTO & CURCIO 2011: 61 Epictia goudoti — CONABIO 2012: 52 (part) Epictia phenops — WALLACH et al. 2014: 278 Epictia phenops — MCCRANIE 2015 Epictia phenops — MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016 |
| Distribution | Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico (Coastal and foothill regions on Atlantic slopes from central Veracruz, including Yucatan; and on Pacific slopes from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into N Chiapas, Oaxaca, Queretaro, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Guerrero, Cozumel Island), El Salvador Type locality: Tehuantepec and “Coban, Guatemala”, restricted to “Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico” by lectotype designation, 16°19’28"N, 95°14’21"W, elevation 50 m. |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Lectotype: USNM 30290, designated by MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016; Syntypes: USNM 12444, 30289-94; |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Epictia phenops is one of the three species of the E. goudotii complex under study herein that lack rostral-frontal fusion (= has a frontal scale present). Epictia ater and E. bakewelli are distinguished from E. phenops in having rostral-frontal fusion. Epictia goudotii and E. magnamaculata are the two species that agree with E. phenops in having a frontal scale (= lack rostral-frontal fusion). Epictia phenops differs from E. goudotii in having the pale tail spot almost always larger ventrally than dorsally, covering 0–1 scales dorsally and 7–15 scales ventrally (versus pale tail spot, when present, larger dorsally than ventrally, covering 1–4 scales dorsally, 0–1 scales ventrally in E. goudotii). Epictia phenops differs from E. magnamaculata in usually having indistinct dark brown body stripes on a paler brown ground color, an indistinct to absent pale snout spot that is usually confined to the rostral when present, and a usually distinct pale tail spot that is almost always larger ventrally than dorsally (versus distinct alternating black and dark brown zig-zag body stripes, pale snout spot distinct with the spot almost always extending from the rostral onto adjacent edges of upper nasal scales, and a distinct pale tail spot that is almost always larger dorsally than ventrally, covering 2–6 scales dorsally and 2–5 scales ventrally in E. magnamaculata). The rare specimens (3 of 54 individuals) of E. phenops that have rostral-frontal fusion can be difficult to distinguish from E. ater and E. bakewelli, except that some E. phenops tend to have the anterior third of the venter paler brown than the adjacent dorsum (these surfaces usually about same color in E. ater) [from MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016: 11]. |
| Comment | Synonymy: mostly after WALLACH 2016: 250. KLUGE 1984 listed Leptotyphlops bakewelli OLIVER 1937 as a synonym of L. goudotii phenops. Distribution: see map in MCCRANIE & HEDGES 2016: Fig. 4, Wallach 2016: 255 (Map 5). Not listed for Yucatan state (Mexico), fide Gonzalez-Sanchez et al. 2017. Not listed for Querétaro by Tepos-Ramírez et al. (2023). |
| Etymology | The origin of the name for this species is derived from the Greek phae, meaning brown, and the Greek nops, meaning blind, referring to a brown blind snake. |
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