Echinanthera cyanopleura (COPE, 1885)
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Echinanthera cyanopleura
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae, Echinantherini), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | Portuguese: Cobrinha-Cipó, Corredeira-Grande-do-Mato, Papa-Rã |
| Synonym | Aporophis cyanopleurus COPE 1885: 191 Echinanthera cyanopleura Dromicus melanostigma — BOULENGER 1885 Liophis melanostigma — BOULENGER 1894 Leimadophis melanostigma — AMARAL 1930 Dromicus melanostigmus — LEMA 1980 Echinanthera cyanopleura — GIRAUDO & SCROCCHI 2002 Echinanthera cyanopleura — WALLACH et al. 2014: 253 Echinanthera cyanopleura — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Brazil (Espirito Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina), Argentina (Misiones) Type locality: Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Syntypes: ANSP 11198-99 (2) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Echinanthera can be recognized by (1) usually eight supralabials, with 2nd–3rd or 2nd only touching the loreal and 3rd–5th touching the orbit; (2) 17/17/17 dorsal scale rows usually with one or two apical pits; (3) middorsal pattern composed by an undulating dark-brown stripe (vestigial in E. cephalostriata, E. cyanopleura and E. melanostigma); (4) midventral portion with transverse bands at the base of the ventral scales, especially observable in adults; (5) hemipenis unilobed, unicalyculate and semicapitate, with an asulcate interspinal gap extending from the distal to the proximal region of the organ; in its distal end, it terminates in a homogeneous group of small to medium-sized papillae; (6) dorsolateral crests of the parietal bone inconspicuous in the region close to the contact with supraoccipital; (7) parabasisphenoid lateral crests conspicuous; (8) large number of maxillary (24–35), palatine (19–21), pterygoid (30–37) and dentary teeth (34–40) (Figures 4A–E, 5L–O, 7D, 8B–E and Table 1).” (Abegg et al. 2022) |
| Comment | Type species: Aporophis cyanopleurus COPE 1885: 191 is the type species of the genus Echinanthera COPE 1894. Type genus: Echinanthera COPE 1894 is the type genus of the tribus Echinantherini which contains Adelphostigma, Amnisiophis, Dibernardia, Echinanthera, Sordellina, and Taeniophallus, fide Abegg et al. 2022. For a comparison of morphological characters of these genera see Abegg et al. 2022: 10 (Table 1). |
| Etymology | Not given by Cope (1894), but Abegg et al. 2022 assume that the genus may be named after the Greek words εχις (echis = adder, viper) and ανθηρóς (antheros = flowery, blooming) (Liddell and Scott, 1883; Carreira et al., 2005), probably in reference to the color pattern. The genus name is feminine. |
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