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Geophis occabus PAVÓN-VÁZQUEZ, GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ, BLANCAS-HERNÁNDEZ & NIETO-MONTES DE OCA, 2011

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common Names 
SynonymGeophis occabus PAVÓN-VÁZQUEZ, GARCÍA-VÁZQUEZ, BLANCAS-HERNÁNDEZ & NIETO-MONTES DE OCA 2011
Geophis occabus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 304
Geophis occabus — BARRAGAN-RESÉNDIZ et al. 2022 
DistributionMexico (Guerrero: W Sierra Madre del Sur)

Type locality: El Molote, municipality of Atoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero, Mexico (17°25’14.4’’N, 100°10’15.7’’W)  
Reproductionoviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: MZFC 25530, a female, datum = WGS84), elevation 1787 m, collected by J. C. Blancas-Hernández. Paratypes.—Sixteen specimens from the municipality of Atoyac de A ́ lvarez, Guerrero, Mexico: nine (MZFC 22167–22170, 25528, 25529, 25531, 25532, 25552) from the same locality as the holotype and seven (MZFC 22160, 22162–22166, 25551) from 1.4 km E of El Molote (17°25’10.6’’N, 100°09’28.8’’W), elevation 2014 m, collected by J. C. Blancas-Hernández. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Geophis occabus may be distinguished from all species in the championi and semidoliatus groups, and all species in the sieboldi group except for G. dunni, G. nasalis, and G. sieboldi, in having dorsal scales arranged in 17 rows (versus dorsal scales arranged in 15 rows in the other species); from all species in the chalybeus and latifrontalis groups, and most species in the dubius group (G. anocularis, G. dubius, G. duellmani, G. fulvoguttatus, G. immaculatus, G. rhodogaster, and G. nephodrymus), by having keeled dorsal scales on at least the posterior three-fourths of the body (versus dorsal scales smooth except above the vent in G. dubius and some specimens of G. anocularis; smooth throughout the body in the other species); and from all species in the omiltemanus group, by having the fifth supra- labial and parietal in contact (versus fifth supra- labial and parietal separated by one anterior temporal in the other species).
Geophis occabus differs from the remaining species in the dubius group as follows: from G. carinosus and G. juarezi, by usually having more ventrals (133–139, n 5 6 in females, and 130–137, n 5 11 in males; versus 125–136, n58infemales,and116–123,n56in males of G. carinosus; and 118–124, n 5 3 in females, and 114 in the only known male of G. juarezi) and fewer subcaudals (29–31, n 5 6 in females, and 34–39, n 5 10 in males; versus 37–43,n58infemales,and45–49,n56in males of G. carinosus; 49 in the only female with a complete tail and 55 in the only male known of G. juarezi); and from G. rostralis, by having the first pair of infralabials in contact (versus first pair of infralabials separated by one pair of gular shields in G. rostralis).
Geophis occabus differs from the remaining species in the sieboldi group as follows: from G. dunni, by having fewer subcaudals in females (29–31, n 5 6 versus 36 in the only known specimen of G. dunni); from G. nasalis, by having a light collar in juveniles (versus light collar absent in juveniles of G. nasalis) and usually more ventrals in males (130–137, n 5 11 versus 115–130, n 5 175 in G. nasalis), and by the apparent absence of apical pits (versus paired apical pits in G. nasalis); and from G. sieboldi, by having keeled dorsals on at least the posterior three-fourths of the body (versus keeled dorsals only on the posterior half of the body in G. sieboldi), fewer ventrals (133– 139, n 5 6 in females, and 130–137, n 5 11 in males; versus 147–153, n 5 2 in females, and 143–147,n54inmalesofG.sieboldi),and usually fewer subcaudals (24–31, n 5 6 in females, and 34–39, n 5 10 in males; versus 35– 36,n52infemales,and37–42,n54inmales of G. sieboldi). 
CommentDistribution: see map in BARRAGAN-RESÉNDIZ et al. 2022: 273 (Fig. 5) 
EtymologyThe specific name comes from the Latin word occabus, meaning collar, in reference to the light nuchal collar present in all known specimens of this species. 
References
  • Barragán-Reséndiz, Lesly Montserrat, Pavón-Vázquez, Carlos J., Cervantes-Burgos, Romina Itzel, Trujano-Ortega, Marysol, Canseco-Márquez, Luis, et al. 2022. A New Species of Snake of the Geophis sieboldi Group (Squamata: Dipsadidae) from Estado de México, Mexico. Herpetologica 78 (4): 268-276 - 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
  • Palacios-Aguilar, Ricardo, Rufino Santos-Bibiano and Elizabeth Beltrán-Sánchez. 2016. Notable distributional records of amphibians and reptiles from Guerrero, Mexico. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (2): 527-531 - get paper here
  • Pavón-Vázquez, Carlos J.; Uri O. García-Vázquez, Jean C. Blancas-Hernández, and Adrián Nieto-Montes de Oca 2011. A New Species of the Geophis sieboldi Group (Squamata: Colubridae) Exhibiting Color Pattern Polymorphism from Guerrero, Mexico. Herpetologica 67 (3): 332-343 - 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.
  • 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
 
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