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Coniophanes melanocephalus (PETERS, 1870)

IUCN Red List - Coniophanes melanocephalus - Data Deficient, DD
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymTachymenis melanocephala PETERS 1870
Tachymenis melanocephala — GARMAN 1884: 63
Coniophanes lateritius melanocephalus — BAUER et al. 1995: 75
Coniophanes melanocephalus — PONCE-CAMPOS & SMITH 2001
Coniophanes melanocephalus — FLORES-VILLELA & SMITH 2009
Coniophanes melanocephalus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 177 
DistributionMexico (Puebla, Michoacán, NE Guerrero)

Type locality: Puebla [Mexico], by implication. Restricted to “Matamoros (Izúcar)” by SMITH & TAYLOR 1950.  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: lost, was ZMB 6656 (lost fide Bauer et al. 1995) 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1048 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: Tachy­menis melanocephala was considered a synonym of C. lateritius by Bailey (1939) and Taylor (1941), until Smith & Grant (1958), based on color pattern and distribution, considered it a subspecies of C. lateritius.

Distribution: Not in Morelos fide Lemos-Espinal 2020.

Status of Tachymenis melanocephala: As pointed out by Wellman (1959), the designation of EHT 5198 from Huajintlán, Morelos (not Guerrero as previously stated), 12 mi SW Puente de Ixtla, as the neotype of C. lateritius (Smith and Taylor, 1945), is invalid. That designation was made before it was realized that the specimen represented another taxon named Tachymenis melanocephala Peters (1870), which was then thought to be inseparable from and a synonym of C. lateritius. (Ponce-Campos & Smith 2001)

Abundance: very rare; apparently only known from a handful of specimens: the lost type and a specimen reported by Taylor 1941. (Ponce-Campos & Smith 2001) and some additional specimens reported since then (Solano-Zavaleta et al. 2014). 
EtymologyNamed after Greek melano meaning black and cephalus meaning head, thus the black-headed species.  
References
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • Carbajal-Márquez, R. A., G. E. Quintero-Díaz y M. A. Domínguez-De la Riva. 2011. Coniophanes melanocephalus. Nuevo registro de distribución para Michoacán. Herpetological Review 42 (2): 242 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1862. [On Elapomorphus, Sympholis, and Coniophanes.] Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 13: 524 [1861] - get paper here
  • Flores-Villela, Oscar and Eric N. Smith 2009. A NEW SPECIES OF CONIOPHANES (SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE), FROM THE COAST OF MICHOACÁN, MEXICO. Herpetologica 65 (4): 404-412 - get paper here
  • Garman, Samuel 1884. The reptiles and batrachians of North America. Mem. Mus. comp. Zool, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 8 (3): xxxiv + 185 pp. [1883] [CNAH reprint 10] - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 572 pp
  • Palacios-Aguilar, Ricardo & OSCAR FLORES-VILLELA 2018. An updated checklist of the herpetofauna from Guerrero, Mexico. Zootaxa 4422 (1): 1-24 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1870. Über mexicanische Amphibien, welche Hr. Berkenbusch in Puebla auf Veranlassung des Hrn. Legationsraths von Schlözer dem zoologischen Museum zugesandt hat. Monatsber. königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. 1869 (December): 874-881 - get paper here
  • Ponce-Campos, P. & Smith, H.M. 2001. A review of the Stripeless Snake (Coniophanes lateritius) complex of Mexico. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 37 (1): 10-17 - get paper here
  • Solano-Zavaleta, Israel, Carlos J. Pavón-Vázquez, Gustavo Campillo-García, José Carlos Arenas-Monroy, Edmundo Pérez-Ramos, Eric Centenero-Alcalá, Juan José Avendaño-Pazos, and Adrián Nieto-Montes de Oca. 2014. New record and comments on the distribution of the Mexican colubrid snake Coniophanes melanocephalus (Peters, 1869). Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (2): 295 - 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.
  • Wellman, John 1959. Notes on the variation in and distribution of the Mexican colubrid snake Coniophanes lateritius. Herpetologica 15 (2): 127-128 - get paper here
  • Woolrich-Piña, G. A., E. García-Padilla, D. L. DeSantis, J. D. Johnson, V. Mata-Silva, and L. D. Wilson 2017. The herpetofauna of Puebla, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 4 (4): 791–884 - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
  • Zweifel, Richard G. 1959. Additions to the herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico. American Museum Novitates (1953): 1-13 - get paper here
 
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