| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Mertens' Earth Snake |
| Synonym | Geophis fulvoguttatus MERTENS 1952: 134
Geophis fulvoguttatus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 119
Geophis fulvoguttatus — VILLA et al. 1988
Geophis fulvoguttatus — WILSON & TOWNSEND 2007: 10
Geophis fulvoguttatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 302 |
| Distribution | El Salvador (Santa Ana), Honduras (Ocotepeque, Copán), 1680-2200 m elevation
Type locality: Hacienda Monte Cristo, 2200 m elevation, Cordillera Metapán, Santa Ana, El Salvador.
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| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: SMF 43248 (Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum), juvenile male collected August 1951 by A Zilch. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Geophis fulvoguttatus can be distinguished from G. damiani and G. hoffmanni by having 17 dorsal scale rows (15 dorsal scale rows in the aforementioned species). Of the remaining species with 17 dorsal scale rows (G. dunni, G. nephodrymus, and G. rhodogaster), G. fulvoguttatus can be distinguished from G. dunni by having smooth dorsal scales, six or seven infralabials, and a dark brown or gray dorsal coloration with irregular red or yellow dorsal blotches (dorsal scales strongly keeled, eight infralabials, and pale yellow dorsal color with dark brown saddles in G. dunni); from G. nephodrymus by having 135–157 ventral scales and segmental counts ranging from 171–181 (120–138 ventral scales and segmental counts ranging from 149–160 in G. nephodrymus); and from G. rhodogaster by having a supraocular on at least one side and the frontal not entering the orbit (no supraoculars, frontal entering the orbit on both sides in G. rhodogaster).
Additional details (54 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Distribution: see map in CANSECO-MÁRQUEZ et al. 2016: 133 (Fig. 1). |
| Etymology | Named after Latin fulvus, tawny, reddish yellow; yellow + Latin guttatum, provided with drops, spots, or specks. [“...”]. |
| References |
- Canseco-Márquez L, Pavón-Vázquez CJ, López-Luna MA, Nieto-Montes de Oca A 2016. A new species of earth snake (Dipsadidae, Geophis) from Mexico. ZooKeys 610: 131-145. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.610.8605 - get paper here
- Downs, F. L. 1967. lntrageneric relations among colubrid snakes of the genus Geophis Wagler. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 131: 1-193. - get paper here
- Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
- McCranie J R 2011. The snakes of Honduras. SSAR, Salt Lake City, 725 pp.
- McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
- McCranie,J.R. & Wilson,L.D. 1991. Geophis fulvoguttatus MERTENS and Micrurus browni SCHMIDT and SMITH: additions to the snake fauna of Honduras. Amphibia-Reptilia 12: 112-114 - get paper here
- Mertens, R. 1952. Die Amphibien und Reptilien von El Salvador. Abh. senckenb. naturf. Ges. (Frankfurt) (No. 487): 120 pp.
- Mertens,R. 1952. Weitere neue Reptilien aus El Salvador. Zool. Anz. 149: 133-138
- Solís, J. M., L. D. Wilson, and J. H. Townsend. 2014. An updated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with comments on their nomenclature. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1: 123–144 - get paper here
- Townsend, J. H. 2006. INVENTORY AND CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT OF THE HERPETOFAUNA OF THE SIERRA DE OMOA, HONDURAS, WITH A REVIEW OF THE Geophis (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE) OF EASTERN NUCLEAR CENTRAL AMERICA. PhD thesis, University of Florida, 138 pp.
- Townsend, J. H. and L. D. Wilson 2006. Geophis fulvoguttatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 839: 1-4. - get paper here
- Townsend, J.H.; Wilson, L.D. 2006. A new species of snake of the Geophis dubius group (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) from the sierra de Omoa of northwestern Honduras. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 119 (1): 150–159. - get paper here
- Townsend, Josiah H. 2009. MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN GEOPHIS NEPHODRYMUS (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE), WITH COMMENTS ON CONSERVATION OF GEOPHIS IN EASTERN NUCLEAR CENTRAL AMERICA. Herpetologica 65 (3): 292-302 - get paper here
- Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
- WILSON, L.D. & J.H. TOWNSEND 2007. A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation. Zootaxa 1395: 1-31 - get paper here
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