Helicops scalaris JAN, 1865

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Higher Taxa	Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Ladder Keelback (Hoge's Keelback)
Synonym	Helicops scalaris JAN 1865: 250 Helicops scalaris — BOULENGER 1893: 279 Helicops hogei LANCINI 1964 (fide ROSSMAN Helicops scalaris — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 125 Helicops hogei — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 124 Helicops hogei — KORNACKER 1999: 88 Helicops scalaris — KORNACKER 1999: 89 Helicops hogei — RIVAS et al. 2012 Helicops scalaris — RIVAS et al. 2012 Helicops scalaris — WALLACH et al. 2014: 323 Helicops hogei — NATERA-MUMAW et al. 2015: 181 Helicops scalaris — NATERA-MUMAW et al. 2015: 182
Distribution	Venezuela (Zulia), Colombia hogei: Venezuela (TF Amazonas, Delta Amacuro); Type locality: Río Autana, Territorio Federal Amazonas, Venezuela. Type locality: Venezuela.
Reproduction	ovovivparous (Braz et al. 2016)
Types	Holotype: MRSN (= MSNTO = MZUT), a 410 mm specimen.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: This species can be distinguished from all its congeners except H. trivittatus by the combination of having intergenials, 110–119 ventrals in males and 113–125 in females, and 67–95 subcaudals. From H. trivittatus it differs in having a blotched dorsum, versus striped in H. trivittatus (for information on references see Suppl. material 3, Schöneberg & Köhler 2021).
Comment	Synonymy: RIVAS et al. 2012 recognize Helicops hogei as distinct, but note that “a reassessment of the species is suggested in order to support its validity (see Rossman 2002)”.
Etymology	Named after Latin scalaris, of or belonging to a flight of steps or a ladder. [“...II colore di fondo è grigio di ferro, con alcune macchie nere sulla lesta di cui la più grande è situala fra l’uno e l’altro occhio; sulla nuca havvi una larga striscia nera interrotta la quale continua fino alla punta della coda; ai lati di questa ne scorre un’altra pure interrotta ma un po’più stretta ed i cui singoli tratti alternano con quelli della striscia mediana...”]. (from Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., May 2024)
References	Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here Braz, Henrique B.; Rodrigo R. Scartozzoni, Selma M. Almeida-Santos 2016. Reproductive modes of the South American water snakes: A study system for the evolution of viviparity in squamate reptiles. Zoologischer Anzeiger 263: 33-44; doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2016.04.003 - get paper here Costa, Henrique C.; Diego J. Santana, Fernando Leal, Ricardo Koroiva, and Paulo C.A. Garcia 2016. A New Species of Helicops (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Hydropsini) from Southeastern Brazil. Herpetologica 72 (2): 157-166 - get paper here Jan, G. 1865. Enumerazione sistematica degli ofidi appartenenti ai gruppo Potamophilidae. Archive per la Zoologia, l’Anatomia et la Fisiologia 3 (2): 201-265 - get paper here Kawashita-Ribeiro, Ricardo Alexandre; Robson Waldemar Ávila, and Drausio Honorio Morais 2013. A New Snake of the Genus Helicops Wagler, 1830 (Dipsadidae, Xenodontinae) from Brazil. Herpetologica 69 (1): 80-90. - get paper here Kornacker,P.M. 1999. Checklist and key to the snakes of Venezuela. PaKo-Verlag, Rheinbach, Germany, 270 pp. Lancini,A.R. 1964. Publicaciones Ocasionales del Museo de Ciencias Naturales Venezuela, Caracas, 7: 2 Lancini,A.R. & Kornacker,P.M. 1989. Die Schlangen von Venezuela. Armitano Editores C.A., Caracas, 1-381 MORAES-DA-SILVA, ANTONIO; RENATA CECÍLIA AMARO, PEDRO M. SALES NUNES, CHRISTINE STRÜSSMANN, MAURO JUNIOR TEIXEIRA, ALBEDI JR. ANDRADE, VINÍCIUS SUDRÉ, RENATO RECODER, MIGUEL TREFAUT RODRIGUES, FELIPE FRANCO CURCIO 2019. Chance, luck and a fortunate finding: a new species of watersnake of the genus Helicops Wagler, 1828 (Serpentes: Xenodontinae), from the Brazilian Pantanal wetlands. Zootaxa 4651 (3): 445–470 - get paper here Natera-Mumaw, Marco; Luis Felipe Esqueda-González & Manuel Castelaín-Fernández 2015. Atlas Serpientes de Venezuela. Santiago de Chile, Dimacofi Negocios Avanzados S.A., 456 pp. - get paper here Pérez-Santos,C. & Moreno, A.G. 1988. Ofidios de Colombia. Museo reegionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Monographie VI, 517 pp. RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here Rossman, D. 2002. Variation in the xenodontid water snake Helicops scalaris Jan, and the status of H. hogei Lancini. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science (78): 1-18. [Louisiana State University] - get paper here Schöneberg, Y., & Köhler, G. 2021. Distribution and identification of the species in the genus Helicops Wagler, 1830 (Serpentes, Colubridae, Xenodontinae). ARPHA Preprints, 1, e67869 - 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.
External links	IUCN Red List http://www.herpven.org/reptiles.htm Google images

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