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Helicops petersi ROSSMAN, 1976

IUCN Red List - Helicops petersi - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Spiral Keelback 
SynonymHelicops petersi ROSSMAN 1976
Helicops petersi — DUELLMAN 1978: 243
Helicops petersi — KAWASHITA-RIBEIRO et al. 2013
Helicops petersi — WALLACH et al. 2014: 323 
DistributionEcuador (eastern Andean foothills), Colombia

Type locality: Ecuador, Napo, E. bank of Rio Misahualli, 1 mi NE Tena.  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 196360 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Helicops petersi can be distinguished from all its congeners except H. pastazae by the combination of 21–23 dorsal scale rows at midbody, reducing to 16 anterior to cloaca, and 135–150 ventrals (for information on references see Suppl. material 3, Schöneberg & Köhler 2021). 
Comment 
EtymologyNamed after James A. Peters (1922-1972), American herpetologist, specializing on South American reptiles. 
References
  • Arteaga, A.; Bustamante, L.; Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador. Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping, 1073 pp. - get paper here
  • Bernal, R. 2025. Serpientes de Colombia-Guía de Campo. Serie de Guías Tropicales de Campo. 19: 396 pp. Conservación Internacional Colombia, Bogotá - get paper here
  • Costa, Henrique C.; Diego J. Santana, Fernando Leal, Ricardo Koroiva, and Paulo C.A. Garcia 2016. A New Species of Helicops (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Hydropsini) from Southeastern Brazil. Herpetologica 72 (2): 157-166 - get paper here
  • Kawashita-Ribeiro, Ricardo Alexandre; Robson Waldemar Ávila, and Drausio Honorio Morais 2013. A New Snake of the Genus Helicops Wagler, 1830 (Dipsadidae, Xenodontinae) from Brazil. Herpetologica 69 (1): 80-90. - get paper here
  • McKay, J. Lindley & Olga Milenkaya 2023. Erstnachweis von Helicops petersi aus Kolumbien. Sauria 45 (2): 61-68
  • MORAES-DA-SILVA, ANTONIO; RENATA CECÍLIA AMARO, PEDRO M. SALES NUNES, CHRISTINE STRÜSSMANN, MAURO JUNIOR TEIXEIRA, ALBEDI JR. ANDRADE, VINÍCIUS SUDRÉ, RENATO RECODER, MIGUEL TREFAUT RODRIGUES, FELIPE FRANCO CURCIO 2019. Chance, luck and a fortunate finding: a new species of watersnake of the genus Helicops Wagler, 1828 (Serpentes: Xenodontinae), from the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands. Zootaxa 4651 (3): 445–470 - get paper here
  • Rossman, Douglas A. 1976. Revision of the South American colubrid snakes of the Helicops pastazae complex. Occasional papers of the Museum of Zoology, Louisiana State University (50): 1-15 - get paper here
  • Schöneberg, Y., & Köhler, G. 2021. Distribution and identification of the species in the genus Helicops Wagler, 1830 (Serpentes, Colubridae, Xenodontinae). ARPHA Preprints, 1, e67869 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - 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.
 
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