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Xenopholis scalaris (WUCHERER, 1861)

IUCN Red List - Xenopholis scalaris - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Wucherer's Ground Snake
Portuguese: Falsa-Coral, Jararaquinha-do-Igapó 
SynonymElapomorphus scalaris WUCHERER 1861: 325
Elapomorphus scalaris WUCHERER 1862: 318
Xenopholis Braconnieri PETERS 1869: 441
Gerrhosteus prosopis COPE 1874: 71
Elapomorphus scalaris — STRAUCH 1884: 573
Sympeltophis ungalioides WERNER 1925: 52 (fide SMITH 1928)
Xenopholis scalaris — PETERS 1960: 541
Xenopholis scalaris — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970
Xenopholis scalaris — BAUER et al. 1995: 75
Xenopholis scalaris — LEHR 2002: 98
Xenopholis scalaris — JANSEN et al. 2009
Xenopholis scalaris — WALLACH et al. 2014: 803
Xenopholis scalaris — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 
DistributionBolivia (Amazonas), N Peru (Amazonas, Pasco etc.), Ecuador (Amazonas),
Brazil (Amazonas, Pará, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco), French Guiana [Vidal et al. 1998], Colombia, Venezuela

Type locality: Canavieras, Matta de Sao Joao, Brazil.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntype: BMNH 1946.1.8.60
Syntype: ANSP 11359; Peru, Nauta [prosopis] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 625 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy partly after PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970. Not listed by GASC & RODRIGUES 1980. The photo labeled Xenopholis scalaris in CAMPBELL & LAMAR (2004) (an Amazonian species) actually shows X. undulatus.

Characteristics (genus): The most distinctive character of Xenopholis is their dorsally-expanded vertebrae (Boulenger 1896; Hoge and Federsoni 1975).

Type species: Elapomorphus scalaris WUCHERER 1861: 325 is the type species of the genus Xenopholis PETERS 1869.

Distribution: see map in Bachur et al. 2025. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin scalaris, of or belonging to a flight of steps or a ladder. (PETERS 1869, Esteban Lavilla, pers. comm., April 2024)

The genus was named after Greek xenos (ξένος), strange, unusual + Greek phlos (φολίς), horny scale. 
References
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