Dipsas

Dipsas
Dipsas catesbyi in Ecuador.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Xenodontinae
Genus:	Dipsas Laurenti, 1768

Dipsas is a genus of nonvenomous New World colubrid snakes in the subfamily Xenodontinae.^[1]

Geographic range

Species in the genus Dipsas are found from southern Mexico through Central America and South America, as far as Argentina and Paraguay.^{[1] [2]}

Taxonomy

The genus includes over 30 distinct species.^[3]

Description

Dipsas species are slender, small to medium-sized snakes, often no longer than 60 cm (24 in), and rarely longer than 100 cm (39 in). Coloration and color pattern may vary, but often consist of black and brown, frequently with alternating rings separated by white.

Behavior and diet

They are mostly arboreal snakes that mainly feed on land snails and slugs.

Species

• Dipsas albifrons (Sauvage, 1884)
• Dipsas articulata (Cope, 1868)
• Dipsas bicolor (Günther, 1895)
• Dipsas boettgeri (F. Werner, 1901)
• Dipsas brevifacies (Cope, 1866)
• Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796)
• Dipsas chaparensis Reynolds & Foster, 1992
• Dipsas copei (Günther, 1872)
• Dipsas elegans (Boulenger, 1896)
• Dipsas gaigeae (Oliver, 1937)
• Dipsas gracilis (Boulenger, 1902)
• Dipsas incerta (Jan, 1863)
• Dipsas indica Laurenti, 1768
• Dipsas latifasciata (Boulenger, 1913)
• Dipsas latifrontalis (Boulenger, 1905)
• Dipsas neivai Amaral, 1926
• Dipsas oreas (Cope, 1868)
• Dipsas pakaraima MacCulloch & Lathrop, 2004
• Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837
• Dipsas perijanensis (Alemán, 1953)
• Dipsas peruana (Boettger, 1898)
• Dipsas poecilolepis (Amaral, 1923)
• Dipsas polylepis (Boulenger, 1912)
• Dipsas pratti (Boulenger, 1897)
• Dipsas sanctijoannis (Boulenger, 1911)
• Dipsas schunkii (Boulenger, 1908)
• Dipsas temporalis (F. Werner, 1909)
• Dipsas tenuissima Taylor, 1954
• Dipsas variegata (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
• Dipsas vermiculata J.A. Peters, 1960
• Dipsas viguieri (Bocourt, 1884)

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Dipsas.

References

1. De Lima, A.C.; Da Costa Prudente, A.L. 2009: Morphological variation and systematics of Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796) and Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae). Zootaxa, 2203: 31-48. Abstract & excerpt
2. Cadle, John E. (2005). "Systematics of snakes of the Dipsas oreas complex (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in western Ecuador and Peru, with revalidation of D. elegans (Boulenger) and D. ellipsifera (Boulenger)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 158 (3): 67–136. doi:10.3099/0027-4100(2005)158[67:SOSOTD]2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
3. "Dipsas". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 10 February 2011.

Further reading

• Freiberg MA. 1982. Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Genus Dipsas, pp. 93-94).

• Laurenti JN. 1768. Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum. Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (Dipsas, new genus, pp. 89-90).

External links

• Fernandes, D.S.; Marques, O.A.V.; Argôlo, A.J.S. 2010: A new species of Dipsas Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae). Zootaxa, 2691: 57–66. Preview