Dipsas

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Dipsadidae
Subfamilia: Dipsadinae
Genus: Dipsas
Species (52): D. albifrons – D. alternans – D. andiana – D. articulata – D. baliomelas – D. bicolor – D. bobridgelyi – D. brevifacies – D. bucephala – D. catesbyi – D. chaparensis – D. cisticeps – D. copei – D. elegans – D. ellipsifera – D. gaigeae – D. georgejetti – D. gracilis – D. incerta – D. indica – D. jamespetersi – D. klebbai – D. latifrontalis – D. lavillai – D. maxillaris – D. mikanii – D. neuwiedi – D. nicholsi – D. oligozonata – D. oneilli – D. oreas – D. oswaldobaezi – D. pakaraima – D. palmeri – D. pavonina – D. peruana – D. praeornata – D. pratti – D. sanctijoannis – D. sazimai – D. schunkii – D. temporalis – D. tenuissima – D. trinitatis – D. turgida – D. vagrans – D. vagus – D. variegata – D. ventrimaculatus – D. vermiculata – D. viguieri – D. williamsi
Name

Dipsas Laurenti, 1768: 89

Type species: Dipsas indica Laurenti, 1768, by monotypy.

Synonyms

Sibynomorphus Fitzinger, 1843: 27 [synonymized by Arteaga et al. (2018: 96)]
Type species: Dipsas mikanii Schlegel, 1837, by original designation.

References
Primary references

Laurenti, J.N. 1768. Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austracorum, quod authoritate et consensu (In Latin). Joan Thomae: Vienna. 217 pp. BHL Reference page.
Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page.
Arteaga, A., Salazar-Valenzuela, D., Mebert, K., Peñafiel, N., Aguiar, G., Sánchez-Nivicela, J.C., Pyron, R.A., Colston, T.J., Cisneros-Heredia, D.F., Yánez-Muñoz, M.H., Venegas, P.J., Guayasamin, J.M. & Torres-Carvajal, O. 2018. Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru. ZooKeys 766: 79–147. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.766.24523. Reference page.

Additional references

De Lima, A.C. & Da Costa Prudente, A.L. 2009. Morphological variation and systematics of Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796) and Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae). Zootaxa 2203: 31–48. Abstract & excerpt
Fernandes, D.S., Marques, O.A.V. & Argôlo, A.J.S. 2010. A new species of Dipsas Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae). Zootaxa 2691: 57–66. Preview

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Dipsas . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 29 February 2020.
Dipsas – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
English: Snail-eaters

Dipsas is a genus of nonvenomous New World snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The genus Sibynomorphus has been moved here. The genus Dipsas are as known as snail-eater.

Geographic range

Species in the genus Dipsas are found from southern Mexico through Central America and South America, as far as Argentina and Paraguay.[1][2]
Taxonomy

The genus Dipsas includes over 30 distinct species.[3]
Description

Dipsas species are slender, small to medium-sized snakes, often no longer than 60 cm (24 in), and rarely longer than 100 cm (39 in). 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 snakes that mainly feed on land snails and slugs.
Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.[4]

Dipsas albifrons (Sauvage, 1884)
Dipsas alternans (Fischer, 1885)
Dipsas andiana (Boulenger, 1896)
Dipsas articulata (Cope, 1868)
Dipsas baliomelas Harvey, 2008
Dipsas bicolor (Günther, 1895)
Dipsas bobridgelyi Arteaga et. al., 2018
Dipsas bothropoides Mebert, Passos, Fernandes, Entiauspe-Neto, Queiroz-Alvez, Machado, & Lopes, 2020
Dipsas brevifacies (Cope, 1866)
Dipsas bucephala (Shaw, 1802)
Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796)
Dipsas chaparensis Reynolds & Foster, 1992
Dipsas cisticeps (Boettger, 1885)
Dipsas copei (Günther, 1872)
Dipsas elegans (Boulenger, 1896)
Dipsas ellipsifera (Boulenger, 1898)
Dipsas gaigeae (Oliver, 1937)
Dipsas georgejetti Arteaga et. al., 2018
Dipsas gracilis (Boulenger, 1902)
Dipsas incerta (Jan, 1863)
Dipsas indica Laurenti, 1768
Dipsas jamespetersi Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989
Dipsas klebbai Arteaga et. al., 2018
Dipsas latifrontalis (Boulenger, 1905)
Dipsas lavillai Scrocchi, Porto & Rey, 1993
Dipsas maxillaris (F. Werner, 1910)
Dipsas mikanii (Schlegel, 1837)
Dipsas neivai Amaral, 1926
Dipsas neuwiedi (Ihering, 1911)
Dipsas nicholsi (Dunn, 1933)
Dipsas oligozonata Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989
Dipsas oneilli Rossman & Thomas, 1979
Dipsas oreas (Cope, 1868)
Dipsas oswaldobaezi Arteaga et. al., 2018
Dipsas pakaraima MacCulloch & Lathrop, 2004
Dipsas palmeri (Boulenger, 1912)
Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837
Dipsas peruana (Boettger, 1898)
Dipsas praeornata (F. Werner, 1909)
Dipsas pratti (Boulenger, 1897)
Dipsas sanctijoannis (Boulenger, 1911)
Dipsas sazimai Fernandes, Marques & Argôlo, 2010[5]
Dipsas schunkii (Boulenger, 1908)
Dipsas temporalis (F. Werner, 1909)
Dipsas tenuissima Taylor, 1954
Dipsas trinitatis Parker, 1926
Dipsas turgida (Cope, 1868)
Dipsas vagrans (Dunn, 1923)
Dipsas vagus (Jan, 1863)
Dipsas variegata (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854)
Dipsas ventrimaculata (Boulenger, 1885)
Dipsas vermiculata J.A. Peters, 1960
Dipsas viguieri (Bocourt, 1884)
Dipsas williamsi Carillo de Espinoza, 1974

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Dipsas.
References

De Lima AC, Da Costa Prudente AL (2009). "Morphological variation and systematics of Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796) and Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae)". Zootaxa 2203: 31-48. Abstract & excerpt
Cadle, John E. (2005). "Systematics of snakes of the Dipsas oreas complex (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in western Ecuador and Peru, with revalidation of D. elegans (Boulenger) and D. ellipsifera (Boulenger)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 158 (3): 67–136. doi:10.3099/0027-4100(2005)158[67:SOSOTD]2.0.CO;2. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
"Dipsas ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
Genus Dipsas at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Fernandes DS, Marques OAV, Argôlo AJS (2010). "A new species of Dipsas Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". Zootaxa 2691: 57–66. Preview