Geophis dunni

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Geophis dunni
The only known specimen of Geophis dunni

Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Geophis
Species:
G. dunni
Binomial name
Geophis dunni
Schmidt, 1932

Geophis dunni, Dunn's earth snake, is a species of enigmatic snake in the family Colubridae. The species is presumably endemic to Nicaragua and is only known from a single specimen discovered in 1932.[2][3] This specimen, the holotype, was discovered by Karl Patterson Schmidt in the stomach of a Central American coral snake, and no additional specimen has been seen since.[2][4] The holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 310 mm (12 in), a tail length of 57 mm (2.2 in), and a total length of 367 mm (14.4 in).[2][4][5] It is part of the Geophis sieboldi species group according to Floyd Leslie Downs.[6][5][7] This species was named by Schmidt after fellow herpetologist Emmett Reid Dunn[8] "in allusion to his important contributions to our knowledge of this group of snakes".[2]

This species is little known for several reasons. Snakes of the

type locality given by Schmidt is very vague, only being "Matagalpa, Nicaragua". Matagalpa is both a city and a municipality, and no data for elevation or habitat type were specified either. However, Downs would mark a location in north Nicaragua at an elevation of 705 m (2,313 ft) as being the type locality of this snake,[6][5] but this location is exactly the city of Matagalpa and has been questioned by other papers on its accuracy.[4]
As of 2022, Geophis dunni remains "data deficient" until another individual is collected and a habitat is identified.

Geophis dunni drawn by Floyd Leslie Downs, 1967
Geophis dunni drawn by Floyd Leslie Downs, 1967

Reproduction

G. dunni is oviparous.[3]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T176807A1448010.en
    . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^
    JSTOR 1437020
    – via JSTOR. (Geophis dunni, new species).
  3. ^ a b Geophis dunni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d Townsend, Josiah H. (2006). "Geophis dunni " (PDF). Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (CAAR) – via Texas ScholarWorks.
  5. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00400.x
    .
  6. ^ a b Downs, Floyd (26 July 1967). "Intrageneric Relationships Among Colubrid Snakes of the Genus Geophis Wagler" (PDF). Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 131 – via University of Michigan Library.
  7. ^
    doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1395.1.1
    – via ResearchGate.
  8. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5
    . (Geophis dunni, p. 77).



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