DiCaprio’s Snail-eating Snake

description

Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 387 mm, tail length 193 mm (49 % SVL); head length 14.3 mm (3.7 % SVL) from tip of snout to angle of jaw; head width 9.0 mm (88 % head length) taken at broadest point; snout-orbit distance 2.3 mm; head distinct from neck; snout short, blunt in dorsal outline and rounded in profile; rostral 1.8 mm wide, higher than broad; internasals 1.8 mm wide, broader than long; prefrontals 2.3 mm wide, longer than broad, entering orbit; supraocular 3.6 mm long, longer than broad; frontal 3.7 mm long, pentagonal and with an inward-bent anterior border, in contact with prefrontals, supraoculars, and parietals; parietals 5.8 mm long, longer than broad; nasal divided, in contact with first two supralabials, loreal, prefrontal, internasal, and rostral; loreal 1.4 mm long, longer than high, entering the orbit; eye diameter 3.7 mm; pupil semi-elliptical; no preocular; two postoculars; temporals 1 + 3 on the right side, 2 + 3 on the left side; eight supralabials with 5 th and 6 th contacting orbit on the right side, eight supralabials with 5 th and 6 th contacting orbit on the left side; symphysial precluded from contacting chinshields by a pair of postmentals; t

A consolidated phylogeny of snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama

description

Figs 2 a, b, 3, 4 b, 5 c Proposed standard English name: DiCaprio's Snail-eating Snake Proposed standard Spanish name: Culebra caracolera de DiCaprio

A consolidated phylogeny of snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Sibon irmelindicaprioae sp. nov. is placed in the genus Sibon based on phylogenetic evidence (Fig. 1 a) and on having the penultimate supralabial conspicuously higher than all other supralabials. The species is diagnosed based on the following combination of characters: (1) 15 / 15 / 15 smooth dorsals with enlarged vertebral row (1.5 x as wide as adjacent rows); (2) loreal and prefrontal in contact with orbit; (3) 7 - 9 supralabials with, usually, 5 th and 6 th contacting orbit; (4) 8 - 10 infralabials with 3 rd- 7 th in contact with chinshields, first pair of infralabials not in contact behind symphysial due to presence of postmentals; (5) 187 - 196 ventrals in males, 174 in the single female; (6) 110 - 128 divided subcaudals in males, 117 in the single female; (7) dorsal background color olive with maroon lateral body blotches or irregular bands (2 - 6 dorsal scales long) and a reddish tint along the vertebral line (Figs 2 a, b, 4 b), ventral surfaces yellowish white with encroachment from the dorsal maroon blotches and with smaller blackish speckles and marks in-between the blotches, dorsal aspect of head variegated with a mixture of pinkish to maroon and pale olive y

A consolidated phylogeny of snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama

distribution

Distribution. Sibon irmelindicaprioae sp. nov. is known from 16 localities (listed in Suppl. material 2) in the Choco region of eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia, with an isolated population on the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. The species occurs over an estimated area of 62,241 km 2 and has been recorded at elevations 346 - 1295 m above sea level (Fig. 6). Since the population on the Cordillera Oriental is isolated from the remaining populations and individuals in this area occur at higher elevations and have a different dorsal color pattern, we provisionally assign them to S. irmelindicaprioae sp. nov. pending more comprehensive genetic analyses.

A consolidated phylogeny of snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama