Hydrodynastes bicinctus (HERMANN, 1804)
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Hydrodynastes bicinctus
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| Higher Taxa | Colubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Herrmann's Water Snake Portuguese: Cobra-Coral, Cobra-D’água, Coral-D’água, Falsa-Cobra-D’água, Jararacuçu |
| Synonym | Coluber bicinctus HERMANN 1804: 276 Elaps schrankii WAGLER 1824: 1 Elaps schrankii — SPIX 1824: 1 Xenodon bi-cinctus — SCHLEGEL 1837: 95 Liophis bi-cinctus — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 716 Lejosophis bicinctus – JAN 1863 Dugandia bicincta — DUNN 1944 Dugandia bicincta — HOGE 1952: 226 Hydrodynastes bicinctus — HOGE 1958: 222 Hydrodynastes bicintus — HOGE 1964: 77 (in error) Hydrodynastes bicinctus bicinctus — HOGE 1966: 143 Hydrodynastes bicinctus schultzi HOGE 1966: 143 Hydrodynastes bicinctus schultzi — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 127 Hydrodynastes bicinctus bicinctus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 127 Hydrodynastes bicinctus — GASC & RODRIGUES 1980 Hydrodynastes bicinctus — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999 Hydrodynastes bicinctus bicinctus — FRANCO et al. 2007 Hydrodynastes bicinctus schultzi — FRANCO et al. 2007 Hydrodynastes bicinctus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 339 Hydrodynastes bicinctus — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Guiana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil (Amazonas, Rondonia, Pará, Maranhão, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Amapa, Tocantins), Colombia, Venezuela bicinctus: Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas, Brazil (Amazonas). Type locality: “none given; Rio Japurá, Brazil” (fide KORNACKER 1999). Neotype locality: “municipality of Novo Progresso (07°02’25’’S, 55°24’55’’W, about 240m [elevation]), state of Pará, Brazil” schultzi: Brazil (São Paulo, Goias: HR 33: 226, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul) |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Neotype: MPEG 24628, Adult male, designated by MURTA-FONSECA et al. 2015; Holotype: unlocated (WALLACH et al. 2014: 333) Paratypes: IBSP [schultzi] Holotype: ZSM 1847/0 (lost) [Elaps schrankii] |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Hydrodynastes bicinctus is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of states of characters: dorsal scales usually in 19/19/15 rows; ventral scales 164–180 in females and 154–179 in males; subcaudals 60–85 in females and 63–93 in males; prediastemal teeth 11–13; no apical pits; dorsum of body brown with darker saddle-shaped blotches; venter checkered with black and cream; postocular stripe “C” shaped, reaching gular region [from MURTA-FONSECA et al. 2015]. |
| Comment | Synonymy and subspecies after PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970 and Dunn 1944. MURTA-FONSECA et al. 2015 synonymized H. bicinctus schultzi with the nominal taxon. Hydrodynastes gigas and H. bicinctus have a recent divergence time (~1.5 mya) and both species have low genetic diversity with no geographic structure (Carvalho et al. 2023). Type species: Coluber bicinctus HERRMANN 1804: 276 is the type species of the genus Hydrodynastes FITZINGER 1843: 25. Hoge 1958 states that the type species is Elaps schrankii = Hydrodynastes bicinctus. |
| Etymology | Named after Latin bi-, two, twice; double; having two + Latin cinctus, surround/encircle/ring; enclose. (Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024) The genus was named apparently named after Greek hydros (ὕδρος), water + Greek dynastes (δυνάστης), a lord, master, ruler. |
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