Geophis championi explained

Geophis championi, the Panamenian earth snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Panama.

Etymology

The specific name, championi, is in honor of English entomologist George Charles Champion.^[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. championi is forest, at an altitude of 1370m (4,500feet).

Description

The holotype of G. championi, a male, has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 21cm (08inches), with a tail 4cm (02inches) long. Dorsally, it is uniformly iridescent black. The ventrals and the subcaudals are whitish, edged with black.^[2]

Reproduction

G. championi is oviparous.

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. (Geophis championi, new species, pp. 321–322 + Plate XVI, figure 3, three views of head).
• Downs FL (1967). "Intrageneric relations among colubrid snakes of the genus Geophis Wagler". Micellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 131: 1–193.
• Wilson LD, 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. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. [George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]