Bob Ridgely’s Snail-Eater

description

Description of holotype. Adult male, SVL 372 mm, tail length 158 mm (43 % SVL); head length 15.1 mm (4 % SVL) from tip of snout to commissure of mouth; head width 8.1 mm (54 % head length) taken at broadest point; snout-orbit distance 4.3 mm; head distinct from neck; snout short, blunt in dorsal and lateral outline; rostral 2.4 mm wide, broader than high; internasals 2.3 mm wide, broader than long; prefrontals 2.5 mm wide, longer than broad and contacting orbit; supraocular 3.2 mm long, longer than broad; frontal 3.9 mm long, hexagonal, in contact with prefrontals, supraoculars, and parietals; parietals 4.7 mm long, longer than broad; nasal divided, in contact with first three supralabials, loreal, prefrontal, internasal, and rostral; loreal 1.8 mm long, slightly higher than long, entering the orbit; eye diameter 2.7 mm; pupil semi-elliptical; no preocular; two postoculars; temporals 2 + 3; nine supralabials, 4 th and 5 th contacting orbit; symphysial separated from chinshields by the first pair of infralabials; 13 infralabials, 1 - 7 contacting chinshields; anterior pair of chinshields longer than broad, posterior pair broader than long; dorsal scales in 15 / 15 / 15 rows, smooth,

Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Dipsas bobridgelyi is placed in the genus Dipsas based on phylogenetic evidence (Fig. 3), and the absence of a labial that is noticeably higher than other labials and in contact with the postocular, primary, and secondary temporals. The species differs from all described species of Dipsas based on the following combination of characters: (1) 15 / 15 / 15 smooth dorsals with enlarged vertebral row (2.1 - 2.2 times as wide as adjacent rows); (2) loreal and prefrontal in contact with orbit; (3) 9 supralabials with 4 th and 5 th contacting orbit; (4) one pair of infralabials in contact behind symphysial; (5) 180 - 201 ventrals in males, 178 - 184 in females; (6) 95 - 117 divided subcaudals in males, 96 - 98 in females; (7) dorsal and ventral color made up of 30 - 35 bold black body rings (up to 7 - 12 vertebral scales long) separated from each other by narrow (up to 3 - 4 vertebral scales long) dingy white interspaces; dorsal aspect of interspaces heavily speckled with rusty and black pigment; ventral surfaces lacking speckling; ground color of head dingy white with various degrees of scattered black pigment that coalesce on the top of the head, and various degrees of rusty

Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru

distribution

Distribution. Foothills of the southwestern Ecuadorian Andes in the provinces of Azuay and El Oro, and northwestern Peruvian Andes in the department of Tumbes, at elevations between 39 and 572 m (Fig. 4).

Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru

etymology

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Dr. Robert " Bob " S. Ridgely, a leading ornithologist and distinguished conservationist who has dedicated almost 50 years of his life to the study and conservation of birds and biodiversity across Latin America. Bob is the President of Rainforest Trust and for the past twenty years has been a major driver of conservation in Ecuador through Fundacion Jocotoco, which he helped establish twenty years ago. In 1980, Bob visited the type locality of Dipsas bobridgelyi (Buenaventura, meaning " good fortune "), now known to be a key area for the conservation of biodiversity. Bob embarked on conservation and worked diligently to raise funds through Rainforest Trust for the past 18 years to purchase private properties and establish what is now the Reserva Buenaventura of Fundacion Jocotoco.

Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru