Rediscovery and redescription of the rare, critically endangered snake Emmochliophis miops (Serpentes: Colubridae), with comments on its natural history, distribution, and phylogenetic relationships

Abstract

Rediscovery and redescription of the rare, critically endangered snake Emmochliophis miops (Serpentes: Colubridae), with comments on its natural history, distribution, and phylogenetic relationships. The description of Emmochliophis miops is based on a single specimen from the Andean slopes of northwest Ecuador collected in 1897. The species had not been collected again until October 2017, when two individuals were found on the western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia; this rediscovery is the first record of this species in this country. Herein, the holotype and the new specimens are examined, and a new diagnosis and description of E. miops are provided. Important data about the natural history and conservation status of the species, and comments on the systematic relationships of Diaphorolepis, Emmochliophis and Synophis are presented.

Finding a shadow in the dark: rediscovery of Fugler’s Shadow Snake (Emmochliophis fugleri Fritts & Smith, 1969) after 54 years, with comments on its conservation status, distribution, and the tribe Diaphorolepidini

“…345.0 mm. Based on the size of the three measured specimens of E. miops (Vera-Pérez et al 2020) as well as the holotype of E. fugleri, we suspect the individual of E. fugleri from RMR was a young adult. Our estimate of its TL is based on the snake's relative size to the glass plate on which it was placed for images of the venter.…”

“…The discovery marked the first record of the species in 120 years and yielded the first color photographs and a redescription of the species (Vera-Pérez et al 2018. The authors also proposed standardized common names for Emmochliophis spp., suggesting Fugler's Shadow Snake for E. fugleri-a more appropriate name compared to Pinchinda Snake (a misspelling of Pichincha) listed on the Reptile Database (http://reptiledatabase.org, accessed: 2020-9-18) and therefore iNaturalist (Vera-Pérez et al 2020).…”