Biology:Adelophis copei

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Short description: Species of snake

Adelophis copei
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Adelophis
Species:
A. copei
Binomial name
Adelophis copei
Dugès, 1879
Map of western central Mexico, showing a highlighted range (in red) covering four small areas in Jalisco
Geographic range of Adelophis copei
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Adelophis copei
    Dugès in Cope, 1879
  • Storeria copei
    — Garman, 1883
  • Ischnognathus copii
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Adelophis copei
    — Dunn, 1931

Adelophis copei is a vulnerable species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species was originally described by Alfredo Dugès in 1897, and is endemic to Mexico.[1][4] It is the type species of the genus Adelophis Dugès, 1879.[4]

Etymology

The generic name, Adelophis, is from the Greek words adēlos meaning "uncertain" or "obscure" and ophis meaning "snake", together referring to Dugès' uncertainty of the taxonomic placement of the genus.[3] The specific name, copei, is in honor of American herpetologist and paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope.[4][5]

Description

Adelophis copei is a small and moderately slender snake that has a maximum total length (including tail) of 392 mm (15.4 in). The tail is about one fifth of the total length.[3]

Habitat and geographic range

Adelophis copei lives in the wetlands of west-central Mexico, in such areas in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, and northern Morelos.[1]

Conservation status

Adelophis copei is threatened by habitat loss due to agriculture and human settlement. Mexico has placed national laws protecting the species, and the species is being researched for more ways to protect it. It is protected in the Sierra Los Huicholes reserve.[1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Adelophis copei ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: e.T63727A12711203. 2007. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63727A12711203.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/63727/12711203. 
  2. Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Ischnognathus copii, p. 289).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Rossman DA, Wallach V (1987). "Adelophis Dugès", Mountain Meadow Snakes". Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (408): 1-2.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Adelophis copei at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 6 February 2015.
  5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN:978-1-4214-0135-5. (Adelophis copei, p. 59).

Further reading

Dugès A (1879). In: Cope ED (1879). "Eleventh Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". Proc. American Philosoph. Soc. 18: 261-277. (Adelophis copei, new species, pp. 265–266).

Wikidata ☰ Q2824234 entry