''Helicops hagmanni'', also known commonly as Hagmann's keelback, is a species of snake in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Dipsadinae of 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 native to the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

basin in South America.

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 ...

, ''hagmanni'', is in honor of Swiss-Brazilian zoologist Gottfried A. Hagmann.

Geographic range

''H. hagmanni'' is found in Brazil,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Peru, and Venezuela.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of ''H. hagmanni'' is freshwater

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

in forest, at altitudes below .

Description

''H. hagmanni'' has 21–29 rows of dorsal scales at midbody. Its

subcaudal scales In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . These scales may be either single or divided (pair ...

are keeled, and number only 50–59. www.reptile-database.org. Its teeth are very long and are nonrecurved. Rossman DA (1975)

Behavior

''H. hagmanni'' is aquatic.

Diet

''H. hagmanni'' preys upon fishes.

Reproduction

''H. hagmanni'' is ovoviviparous.