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Palusophis bifossatus (RADDI, 1820)

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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rio Tropical Racer, false jararaca
P: Jararaca do banhado; jararacuçú do brejo; mapanare del llano; yarará de bañado
Portuguese: Biru, Cobra-Bagual, Cobra-Nova, Jaracuçu, Jaracuçu-do-Brejo, Jaracuçu-Não-Venenoso, Jaracuçu-Rabo-de-Fuso, Jararaca-do-Banhado, Jararaca-do-Brejo, Jararacão-do-Papo-Amarelo, Jararaca-Preta, Jararaca-Rabo-de-Veludo, Jararacuçu, Jararacuçu-do-Banhado, Jararacuçu-do-Brejo, Jararacuçu-Malhada-de-Pau, Malha-de-Traíra, Rabo-de-Veludo, Terra-Nova 
SynonymColuber bifossatus RADDI 1820: 333
Coluber capistratus LICHTENSTEIN 1823: 104
Coluber lichtensteinii WIED-NEUWIED 1824
Coluber lichtensteinii — WAGLER 1828
Coluber pantherinus SCHLEGEL 1837
Ptyas pantherinus — BOETTGER 1885: 233 ?
Drymobius bifossatus — BOULENGER 1894: 346
Drymobius bifossatus — BOULENGER 1894: 10
Drimobius bifossatus — BRAZIL 1911
Drymobius bifossatus — AMARAL 1925
Drymobius bifossatus striatus AMARAL 1931: 86
Drymobius bifossatus triseriatus AMARAL 1931: 86
Dryadophis bifossatus triseriatus — STUART 1941
Mastigodryas bifossatus triseriatus — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970
Mastigodryas bifossatus lacerdai CUNHA & NASCIMENTO 1978
Dryadophis bifossatus villelai HOGE 1952
Mastigodryas bifossatus triseriatus — CEI 1993
Mastigodryas bifossatus triseriatus — LEYNAUD & BUCHER 1999: 26
Mastigodryas bifossatus — LEYNAUD & BUCHER 1999: 26
Mastigodryas bifossatus — GORZULA & SEÑARIS 1999
Mastigodryas biffosatus striatus — RIVAS-FUENMAYOR & BARRIO-AMOROS 2005 (in error)
Mastigodryas bifossatus triseriatus — SCROCCHI et al. 2006: 111
Mastigodryas bifossatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 428
Mastigodryas bifossatus — GUEDES et al. 2014
Palusophis bifossatus — MONTINGELLI et al. 2018
Palusophis bifossatus — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 
DistributionColombia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Amapá, Goias, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Piauí), Bolivia (Beni), Paraguay, NE Argentina (Salta, Jujuy, Formosa, Chaco, Tucumán, Corrientes, Misiones, Entre Rios, Santa Fe), NE Peru

Type locality: Rio de Janeiro [bifossatus]

striatus: Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Venezuela (Cojedes); Type locality: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

triseriatus: South Matto Grosso(Brazil) to Paraguay and Bolivia. Type locality: Taunay, Matto Grosso.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MZUF? (orig. IRMC), a 1575 mm specimen (G.Raddi).
Holotype: MPEG [lacerdai]
Holotype: MLS (Bogotá, Colombia) [striatus]
Holotype: IBSP 5395 (Instituto Butantan, São Paulo) [triseriatus] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): Palusophis bifossatus can be distinguished by the combination of having eight supralabials, with the fourth and fifth scales entering the orbit, one loreal, absence of an ocular stripe, a divided anal scale, 17/15-15-15 smooth dorsal scales with two apical pits and dark dorsal crossbands present in the juvenile and adults, without an ontogenetic shift to a unicolour or striped pattern, although the tail can become darker. Dorsal blotches either connected or separate from lateral ones along the entire dorsum, but always aligned transversely. Hemipenis unilobed, with lobe twice longer than the body and base of the organ; single sulcus spermaticus ending on the apex of the calyculate lobe, spiny body with enlarged spines on the sides of the sulcus (Figure 3). Diet consists predominantly of amphibians, with mammals representing less than a third of the diet (from Montingelli et al. 2019).


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CommentDistribution: This species has been recorded from Uruguay inn the past but according to CARREIRA et al. (2005) there are no reliable records from that country. See map in Nogueira et al. 2019.

Synonymy: BOETTGER 1885: 233 listed Ptyas pantherinus (Daud.) from Paraguay, which may refer to Coluber pantherinus Daudin (= Pantherophis guttatus) but that is not known from Paraguay, so we assume that he refered to Coluber pantherinus Schlegel. Montingelli et al. 2019 reject the use of subspecies and synonymize the two previously recognized subspecies striatus and triseriatus into bifossatus.

Type species: Coluber bifossatus RADDI 1820: 333 is the type species of the genus Palusophis MONTINGELLI et al. 2018. 
EtymologyThe genus name Palusophis is derived from the Latin word Palus (swamp, marsh), and the Greek ophis (serpent) in reference to the habitat of its species, Palusophis bifossatus, in humid areas of both forested and open environments in South America. 
References
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