Dipsas palmeri (BOULENGER, 1912)
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Dipsas palmeri
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Palmer’s Snail-Eater S: Caracolera de Palmer E: Striped Snail-eater (latifasciata) |
| Synonym | Leptognathus palmeri BOULENGER 1912: 422 Leptognathus latifasciatus BOULENGER 1913: 72 Sibynomorphus latifasciatus — DUNN 1923: 187 Sibynomorphus palmeri — AMARAL 1930:199 Dipsas palmeri — PARKER 1934: 271 Dipsas latifasciata — PETERS 1960: 100 Dipsas latifasciata — CADLE 2005 Dipsas peruana — HARVEY & EMBERT 2008 (part.) Dipsas palmeri — ARTEAGA et al. 2018 |
| Distribution | Ecuador, Peru (Eastern slopes of the Andes), elevation 1211 - 2282 m Type locality: El Topo, province of Tungurahua, Ecuador. latifasciata: N Peru, S Ecuador; Type locality: Upper Marañon, Eastern Peru [Cajamarca, Peru] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.20.77 (status uncertain fide P. Campbell, pers. comm., March 2019) Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.2077 [latifasciatus] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Dipsas palmeri differs from all described species of Dipsas based on the following combination of characters: (1) 15/15/15 smooth dorsals with enlarged vertebral row; (2) one loreal and one preocular in contact with orbit; (3) 8–10 supralabials with (usually) 4th to 6th contacting orbit; (4) one pair of infralabials in contact behind symphysial; (5) 172–202 ventrals in males, 181–200 in females; (6) 91–118 divided subcaudals in males, 86–102 in females; (7) dorsal and ventral ground color light brown with various degrees of fine black speckling and with 32–41 brown to blackish, white-edged circular blotches that are longer than interspaces in the first half of the body, but shorter in the second half (Figs 1r, s); adult head gray with different degrees of whitish edging on the labial scales, and a thin (1–2 scales long) white to light grayish brown irregular parietal collar; dorsal blotches incomplete ventrally, extending marginally onto ventrals but not fusing midventrally; (8) 215–907 mm SVL in males, 642–1187 mm in females; (9) 78–390 mm TL in males, 246–298 mm in females. Additional details (844 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
| Comment | Synonymy: Fernandes et al. (2002) synonymized D. latifasciata with D. polylepis. Arteaga et al. 2018 resurrected D. palmeri and moved Dipsas latifasciata from the synonymy of D. peruana to the synonymy of D. palmeri. Conservation status. An estimated 31 out of the 42 known localities of occur- rence for Dipsas palmeri are located within the limits or the buffer area of the following protected areas: Bosque Protector del Alto Nangaritza, Parque Nacional Llanganates, Parque Nacional Podocarpus and Parque Nacional Sangay. Furthermore, the presence of the species in degraded environments suggests a degree of tolerance for habitat modification. For these reasons, and because it does not meet the criteria for qualifying in a threatened category, we here list it as Least Concern following IUCN guidelines. Similar species: most similar in coloration and lepidosis to D. latifrontalis |
| Etymology | Named after Mervyn George Palmer (1882–1954), British naturalist. |
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