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Gyalopion canum (COPE, 1860)

IUCN Red List - Gyalopion canum - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Hooknose Snake, Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake
S: Naricilla Chihuahuense 
SynonymPariaspis [?] canum COPE 1860: 241
Ficimia cana — GARMAN 1884: 83
Gyalopium canum — COPE 1900: 947
Ficimia cana — CHRAPLIWY & WARD 1963
Gyalopion canum — STEBBINS 1985: 215
Gyalopion canum — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 217
Gyalopion canum — LINER 1994
Gyalopion canum — CROTHER 2000: 62
Gyalopion canum — CROTHER et al. 2012
Gyalopion canum — WALLACH et al. 2014: 317 
DistributionUSA (SE Arizona, New Mexico, SW Texas),
Mexico (NE Sonora, N/E Chihuahua, Coahuila, NE Durango, N Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon, Michoacan [HR 30: 113], Jalisco [HR 32: 59], Querétaro)

Type locality: Fort Buchanan, Arizona.  
Reproductionoviparous (Wright and Wright 1957:285, Greer 1966) 
TypesHolotype: USNM 5284 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus). Maxillary teeth 12 to 15, subequal, no diastemata, some with very distinct, shallow, lateral depressions, all or most others with some evidence of same; body short, cylindrical, head not distinct from neck; eye small; pupil round; snout projecting, pointed; rostral large, separated from frontal by prefrontals; internasals present; loreal present or absent; anterior section of nasal usually fused with first labial; one anterior temporal; posterior chin-shields very small; scales smooth, with single apical pits; ventrals 129 to 146; caudals 23 to 36; hemipenis undivided, distal half or two-thirds calyces, a small adjacent (proximally) area spines, basal sixth ridges, sulcus single (Smith 1941: 358).


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CommentType species: Pariaspis [?] canum COPE 1860: 241 is the type species of the genus Gyalopion COPE 1860. 
EtymologyThe specific epithet comes from the Latin word canus, meaning "gray," in reference to its general appearance (LEMOS-ESPINAL & DIXON 2013).

The genus name Gyalopion is derived from the Greek words gyalos, meaning "hollow" and pion, meaning "fat," applied in reference to the somewhat concave dorsal surface of the rostral. 
References
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  • Chrapliwy, Pete S.;Ward, Arthur J., Jr 1963. New records of the western hook-nosed snake Ficimia cana (Cope), in West Texas. Southwestern Naturalist 8 (1): 52-53 - get paper here
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Cope, E.D. 1860. Catalogue of the Colubridae in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with notes and descriptions of new species. Part II. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12: 241-266 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1900. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Ann. Rep. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1898: 153-1270 - get paper here
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  • Smith, Hobart M. 1944. Snakes of the Hoogstraal Expeditions to northern Mexico. Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History 29 (8): 135-152 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M.; Taylor, Edward H. 1941. A review of the snakes of the genus Ficimia. J. Washington Acad. Sci. 31 (8): 356-368 - get paper here
  • Smith, J. R.;Thornton, Okla W., Jr;Dixon, James R. 1996. Geographic Distribution. Gyalopion canum. Herpetological Review 27 (1): 34 - get paper here
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  • Valdez-Lares, R.; R. Muñiz-Martínez; E.Gadsden; G. Aguirre-León; G. Castañeda-Gaytán; R. Gonzalez-Trápaga 2013. Checklist of amphibians and reptiles of the state of Durango, México. Check List 9 (4):714-724 - get paper here
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