Geophis Explained

Geophis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae of the superfamily Colubroidea. Species in the genus Geophis are commonly referred to as Latin American earth snakes (Spanish: culebra minera or culebra minadora). The genus consists of 53 distinct species.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.^[1]

• Geophis annuliferus – western snail-eating snake
• Geophis anocularis – Sierra Mije earth snake
• Geophis bellus
• Geophis berillus
• Geophis betaniensis – Betanien earth snake
• Geophis bicolor – Mexican plateau earth snake
• Geophis blanchardi – Blanchard's earth snake
• Geophis brachycephalus – Costa Rican earth snake
• Geophis cancellatus – Chiapas earth snake
• Geophis cansecoi
• Geophis carinosus – keeled earth snake
• Geophis chalybeus – Veracruz earth snake
• Geophis championi – Panamenian earth snake
• Geophis damiani
• Geophis downsi – Down's earth snake, Savage's earth snake
• Geophis dubius – Mesa del Sur earth snake
• Geophis duellmani – Sierra Juarez earth snake
• Geophis dugesii – Dugès's earth snake
• Geophis dunni – Dunn's earth snake
• Geophis fulvoguttatus – Mertens's earth snake
• Geophis godmani – Godman's earth snake
• Geophis hoffmanni – Hoffmann's earth snake
• Geophis immaculatus – Downs's earth snake
• Geophis incomptus – Sierra Coalcoman earth snake'
• Geophis isthmicus – isthmian earth snake
• Geophis juarezi – Benito Juarez's earth snake
• Geophis juliai – Zurtuche's earth snake
• Geophis laticinctus – Mesa Central earth snake
• Geophis laticollaris – widecollar earth snake
• Geophis latifrontalis – Potosí earth snake
• Geophis lorancai
• Geophis maculiferus – Michoacán earth snake
• Geophis mutitorques – highland earth snake
• Geophis nasalis – coffee earth snake
• Geophis nephodrymus
• Geophis nigroalbus – Colombian earth snake
• Geophis nigrocinctus – black-banded earth snake
• Geophis occabus
• Geophis omiltemanus – Guerreran earth snake
• Geophis petersii – Peters's earth snake
• Geophis pyburni – Pyburn's earth snake
• Geophis rhodogaster – rosebelly earth snake
• Geophis rostralis –Sierra Madre earth snake
• Geophis ruthveni – Ruthven's earth snake
• Geophis sallaei – Sallae's earth snake
• Geophis sanniolus – pygmy snail sucker
• Geophis sartorii – terrestrial snail sucker
• Geophis semidoliatus – coral earth snake
• Geophis sieboldi – Siebold's earth snake
• Geophis talamancae
• Geophis tarascae – Tarascan earth snake
• Geophis tectus
• Geophis turbidus
• Geophis zeledoni

Nota bene

A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Geophis.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Genus Geophis, pp. 314–315).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Genus Geophis, pp. 69, 70, 98).
• Wagler J (1830). Natürliches system der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification der Säugthiere und Vögel. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Geophis, new genus, p. 342). (in German and Latin).
• Wilson JD, Townsend JH (2007). "A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation". Zootaxa 1395: 1–31.

Notes and References

1. www.reptile-database.org.