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Synophis zamora TORRES-CARVAJAL, ECHEVARRÍA, VENEGAS, CHÁVEZ & CAMPER, 2015

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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Diaphorolepidini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Zamoran Shadow Snake
Spanish: Culebras Andinas de la Sombra de Zamora 
SynonymSynophis zamora TORRES-CARVAJAL, ECHEVARRÍA, VENEGAS, CHÁVEZ & CAMPER 2015 
DistributionEcuador (Zamora Chinchipe)

Type locality: Ecuador (Zamora Chinchipe), Las Orquídeas, 4 km from río Nangaritza (4°15'47.52"S, 78°41'27.93"W, 1843 m elevation  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: QCAZ 9174 (Figs 7, 8), adult male, collected on 19 April 2009 by E. E. Tapia, J. Loe Deichmann and A. F. Jiménez. Paratypes. Ecuador: Provincia Zamora Chinchipe: QCAZ 9175, adult male, same locality data as holotype; QCAZ 12773, adult male from Reserva Numbami, 18 km on road Zamora-Romerillos bajo (4°10'24.64"S, 78°57'29.63"W, 1552 m), collected on 09 July 2014 by S. R. Ron, D. A. Paucar, P.J. Venegas, D. Almeida, D. Velalcázar, M. J. Navarrete, S. Arroyo, N. Páez and Z. Lange; QCAZ 13854, adult male from Bombuscaro (4°6'42.98"S, 78°58'21.22"W, 1543 m), Podocarpus National Park, col- lected on 2 March 2015 by D. Rivadeneira, F. Mora, J. C. Sánchez, D. Velalcázar, D. Núñez, J. Pinto, K. Cruz and Luis T. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Synophis zamora can be distinguished from other species of Synophis by having a noncapitate, bilobed hemipenis with a large lateral spine at the base of the hemipenial body (Fig. 9); 19 longitudinal rows of dorsals at midbody; strongly keeled dorsals except for first row, which is weakly keeled (at least posteriorly); and 147–153 ventrals in males. Scutellational characters of all recognized species of Synophis are presented in Table 3 in TORRES-CARVAJAL et al. 2015.
 
CommentSimilar species: Some specimens of S. bogerti and S. zamora were referred to S. lasallei by Pyron et al. (2015), prior to the description of those taxa. 
EtymologyThe epithet zamora is a noun in apposition and refers to both the Zamora river and the province of Zamora Chinchipe. All type specimens were collected in this province along the upper basin of Zamora river.

Some dictionaries called this species “Zamoran fishing snakes” but there is no evidence this species eats fish (Pyron e al. 2016). 
References
  • PYRON, R. ALEXANDER; ALEJANDRO ARTEAGA, LOURDES Y. ECHEVARRÍA, OMAR TORRES-CARVAJAL 2016. A revision and key for the tribe Diaphorolepidini (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) and checklist for the genus Synophis. Zootaxa 4171 (2): 293–320 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Echevarría LY, Venegas PJ, Chávez G, Camper JD 2015. Description and phylogeny of three new species of Synophis (Colubridae, Dipsadinae) from the tropical Andes in Ecuador and Peru. ZooKeys 546: 153-179, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.546.6533 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - get paper here
 
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