Oxyrhopus melanogenys explained

Oxyrhopus melanogenys, commonly known as Tschudi's false coral snake, is a colubrid snake species found in the northern part of South America.

Description

Adults may attain a total length of 68cm (27inches), which includes a tail 17cm (07inches) long.

Dorsally, it is red or reddish brown, with the dorsal scales black-edged or black-tipped. There may be a few black crossbands in groups of three (triads) on the anterior portion of the body. The top of the head and the nape of the neck are black. Ventrally, it is yellowish.^[1] It is often confused with Oxyrhopus trigeminus.

The dorsal scales are smooth, with apical pits, and are arranged in 19 rows at midbody.^[1]

Subspecies

There are two subspecies, including the nominate subspecies:^{[2] [3]}

• Oxyrhopus melanogenys melanogenys (Tschudi, 1845)
• Oxyrhopus melanogenys orientalis Cunha & Nascimento, 1983

Geographic range

O. m. melanogenys is native to Bolivia, Peru, Brazil (Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará), Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana,^{[4] [5]} Venezuela (Amazonas, Bolívar).^[6]

O. m. orientalis is found in Peru and Brazil (Pará).^[2]

Further reading

• Cunha, O.R. da, and F.P. do Nascimento. 1983. Os Ofidios da Amazônia. XIX. As espécies de Oxyrhopus Wagler, com uma subespécie nova, e Pseudoboa Schneider, na Amazônia orientale e Maranhão (Ophidia: Colubridae). Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Nova Série, Zoologia (112): 1-42. (Oxyrhopus melanogenys orientalis)
• Tschudi, J.J. 1845. Reptilium conspectus quae in Republica Peruana reperiuntur et pleraque observata vel collecta sunt in itinere. Archiv für Naturgeshichte 11 (1): 150–170. (Sphenocephalus melanogenys, p. 163.)

Notes and References

1. [George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger, G.A.]
2. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2010/details/species/id/4464151/source/tree Oxyrhopus melanogenys
3. No subspecies are currently recognized by ITIS. See:
4. Cole, C.J.. C.R. Townsend. R.P. Reynolds. R.D. MacCulloch. A. Lathrop. amp. Amphibians and reptiles of Guyana, South America: Illustrated keys, annotated species accounts, and a biogeographic synopsis. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 2013. 125. 4 . 317–620. 10.2988/0006-324x-125.4.317. 86665287 .
5. MacCulloch, R.D.. A. Lathrop. P.J.R. Kok. R. Ernst. M. Kalamandeen. amp. The genus Oxyrhopus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Xenodontinae) in Guyana: morphology, distributions and comments on taxonomy. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 2009. 49. 36 . 487–495. 10.1590/S0031-10492009003600001 . free.
6. Zaher, H.. U. Caramaschi. amp. 1992. Sur le statut taxinomique dOxyrhopus trigeminus et O. guibei (Serpentes, Xenodontinae). Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. (4)14a(3-4). 3 . 805–827. 10.5962/p.290072 . free.