Apostolepis flavotorquata (DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL, 1854)
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Apostolepis flavotorquata?
Apostolepis flavotorquata
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Cerrado Blackhead, Central Burrowing Snake |
| Synonym | Elapomorphus flavo-torquatus DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 836 Apostolepis flavotorquata — COPE 1862 Elapomorphus flavotorquatus — JAN 1865 Elapomorphus flavotorquatus — STRAUCH 1884: 583 Apostolepis flavotorquata — PETERS et al. 1970: 22 Apostolepis flavotorquata — HARVEY 1999 Apostolepis flavotorquata — DE LEMA 2002 Apostolepis flavotorquata — MARTINS & DE LEMA 2015 Apostolepis flavotorquata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 51 Apostolepis flavotorquata — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | C Brazil (Goias, Tocantins, Bahia, Matto Grosso, Matto Grosso do Sul, Para, São Paulo) Type locality: “Amérique Méridional”; Goias, Brazil (fide DE LEMA & RENNER 2005) |
| Reproduction | oviparous; very long eggs are put within ant nests, under fungi cultures |
| Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 3665 |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Apostolepis is readily diagnosed based on the presence of fused prefrontal and internasal scales (Ferrarezzi 1993). 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 2511 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy that of PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 (who also synonymized Elapomorphus nigrolineatus PETERS 1869: 439 with A. flavotorquata; however, Ferrarezzi, in his PhD thesis [1993] considered A. nigrolineata as a valid species). E. nigrolineatus is now considered a synonym of Apostolepis pymi by some authors). Type species: Elapomorphus flavotorquatus DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854 is the type species of the genus Apostolepis COPE 1862. Habitat (genus): Fossorial, cryptozoic, with Behavior (genus): nocturnal. Diet (genus): Usually ophiophagous feeding on amphisbaenians, small colubrids and, perhaps, blindsnakes (Scolecophidia). Sometimes invertebrates and larvae found in the soil, earthworms. |
| Etymology | Named after Latin flavus, yellow, golden, gold colored + Latin torquatus, torquata, wearing a collar or necklace. (Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024) The genus was named after after Apostolepis: Greek aposta (ἀπόστα), from Greek ἀφεστήξω, shall be absent, away from + Greek lepis (λεπίς), scale; epithelial debris |
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