''Atractus alphonsehogei'', also known commonly as Alphonse's ground snake, is a species of snake in the family

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

. The species is endemic to Brazil.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''alphonsehogei'', is in honor of Brazilian-born Belgian herpetologist Alphonse Richard Hoge. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Atractus alphonsehogei'', p. 6; Hoge, p. 125).

Geographic range

''A. alphonsehogei'' is found in northern Brazil, in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Maranhão, Pará, and

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of ''A. alphonsehogei'' is forest.

Description

''A. alphonsehogei'' may attain a snout-to-vent length of about in females, and about in males. Dorsally, it is brown to grayish black, with a cream-colored incomplete occipital collar. Ventrally, it is cream-colored, with a dark line running down each side of the belly, near the ends of the

ventrals In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

. Each smooth

dorsal scale In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

has one, or rarely two, apical pits. The dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows throught the whole length of the body (17/17/17). Mature males have tubercles in the cloacal region.

Behavior

''A. alphonsehogei'' is terrestrial and

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

Diet

''A. alphonsehogei''

preys Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

predominately upon earthworms.

Reproduction

''A. alphonsehogei'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

References

* Cunha OR, Nascimento FP (1983). "''Ofidios da Amazonia 20 – As especies de ''Atractus'' Wagler, 1828, na Amazonia oriental & Maranhão (Ophidia, Colubridae)''". ''Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Nova Serie, Zoologia'' (123): 1–38. (''Atractus alphonsehogei'', new species). (in Portuguese). * Martins M, Oliveira ME (1993). "The snakes of the genus ''Atractus'' Wagler (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) from the Manaus region, central Amazonia, Brazil". ''Zoologische Mededelingen'' 67: 21–40. * Passos P, Prudente ALC, Ramos LO, Caicedo-Portilla JR, Lynch JD (2018). "Species delimitations in the ''Atractus collaris'' complex (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". ''Zootaxa'' 4392 (3): 491–520. Atractus Reptiles of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil category:Snakes of South America Reptiles described in 1983 {{Colubrid-stub