''Dipsas'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of non

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s 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 Dipsadinae is a large subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Dipsadidae). They are found in most of the Americas, including the West Indies, and are most diverse in South America. There are more than 700 species. Dips ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 genus ''Sibynomorphus'' has been moved here. The genus ''Dipsas'' are as known as snail-eater.

Geographic range

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the genus ''Dipsas'' are found from southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, as far as

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

., (2009). "Morphological variation and systematics of ''Dipsas catesbyi'' (Sentzen, 1796) and ''Dipsas pavonina'' Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae)"
''Zootaxa''
2203: 31-48
Abstract & excerpt
/ref>

Taxonomy

The genus ''Dipsas'' includes over 30 distinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Description

''Dipsas'' species are slender, small to medium-sized snakes, often no longer than , and rarely longer than . Coloration and color pattern may vary, but often consist of black and brown, frequently with alternating rings separated by white.

Behavior and diet

Species in the genus ''Dipsas'' are mostly

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

snakes that mainly feed on

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...

s and

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid. *''

Dipsas albifrons Sauvage's snail-eater (''Dipsas albifrons''), is a non-venomous snake found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At ...

'' *''

Dipsas alternans Jan's snail-eater (''Dipsas alternans''), is a non-venomous snake found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At an ...

'' *''

Dipsas andiana ''Dipsas andiana'' is a non-venomous snake found in Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republ ...

'' *''

Dipsas articulata The American snail-eater (''Dipsas articulata'') is a non-venomous snake found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontine ...

'' *''

Dipsas baliomelas ''Dipsas baliomelas'' is a non-venomous snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many s ...

'' *''

Dipsas bicolor The two-colored snail-eater (''Dipsas bicolor''), is a non-venomous snake found in Honduras, Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, t ...

'' *'' Dipsas bobridgelyi'' *'' Dipsas bothropoides'' *'' Dipsas brevifacies'' *'' Dipsas bucephala'' *''

Dipsas catesbyi Catesby's snail-eater (''Dipsas catesbyi''), also commonly known as Catesby's snail sucker, Peters JA (1956). "An Analysis of Variation in a South American Snake, Catesby's Snail-Sucker (''Dipsas catesbyi'' Sentzen)". ''American Museum Novitates' ...

'' *'' Dipsas chaparensis'' *'' Dipsas cisticeps'' *'' Dipsas copei'' *'' Dipsas elegans'' *'' Dipsas ellipsifera'' *'' Dipsas gaigeae'' *'' Dipsas georgejetti'' *'' Dipsas gracilis'' *'' Dipsas incerta'' *'' Dipsas indica'' *'' Dipsas jamespetersi'' Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989 *'' Dipsas klebbai'' *'' Dipsas latifrontalis'' *'' Dipsas lavillai'' Scrocchi,

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

& Rey, 1993 *'' Dipsas maxillaris'' *'' Dipsas mikanii'' (

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), former American football linebacker * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, older brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlege ...

, 1837) *'' Dipsas neivai'' *'' Dipsas neuwiedi'' ( Ihering, 1911) *'' Dipsas nicholsi'' *'' Dipsas oligozonata'' Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989 *'' Dipsas oneilli'' Rossman &

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, 1979 *'' Dipsas oreas'' *'' Dipsas oswaldobaezi'' *'' Dipsas pakaraima'' *'' Dipsas palmeri'' *'' Dipsas pavonina'' *'' Dipsas peruana'' *'' Dipsas praeornata'' *'' Dipsas pratti'' *'' Dipsas sanctijoannis'' *'' Dipsas sazimai'' , , (2010). "A new species of ''Dipsas'' Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)"
''Zootaxa''
2691: 57–66
Preview
/ref> *'' Dipsas schunkii'' *'' Dipsas temporalis'' *'' Dipsas tenuissima'' *'' Dipsas trinitatis'' *'' Dipsas turgida'' (Cope, 1868) *'' Dipsas vagrans'' (Dunn, 1923) *''

Dipsas vagus ''Dipsas vagus'', Jan's tree snake, is a non-venomous snake found in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_sy ...

'' (Jan, 1863) *'' Dipsas variegata'' *'' Dipsas ventrimaculata'' ( Boulenger, 1885) *'' Dipsas vermiculata'' *'' Dipsas viguieri'' *''

Dipsas williamsi ''Dipsas williamsi'', also known commonly as Williams's tree snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Peru. It was named in honor of Ernest Edward Williams Ernest ...

'' Carillo de Espinoza, 1974 ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Dipsas''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2713699 Colubrids Reptiles of Central America Reptiles of South America Snake genera Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti

Geographic range

Taxonomy

Description

Behavior and diet

Species

References

Further reading

External links