Abstract
The taxonomic status of the Pacific lowland Atractus is revised on the basis of meristic, morphometric, colour pattern, and hemipenial characters. Geographical variation is reported for six Atractus species (A. boulengerii, A. clarki, A. iridescens, A. melas, A. multicinctus, and A. paucidens). Atractus boulengerii is rediscovered and redescribed from a specimen from the Colombian coast. The first voucher specimens are reported for A. melas. The current status of A. microrhynchus is maintained based on the discovery of new material referrable to that species. Three new species of Atractus are described from the Pacific lowland of Colombia: A. echidna sp. nov., A. medusa sp. nov., A. typhon sp. nov. Two new Atractus species groups (multicinctus and paucidens) are proposed based on external morphology, maxillary dentition, and hemipenial characters. A new key to Pacific lowland species of Atractus is provided.References
Andreone, F. & Gavetti, E. (2007) The Life and Herpetological Contributions of Mario Ciacinto Peracca (1861–1923). Society of the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Press, Villanova, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 570 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1894) Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), vol. 2. Trustees of the British Museum, London, U.K., 382 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1896) Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). vol. 3 Trustees of the British Museum, London, U.K., 364 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. (1898) A list of the reptiles and batrachians collected by the late Prof. L. Balzan in Bolivia. Annali del Museo di Storia Naturale de Genova, 2, 128–133.
Boulenger, G.A. (1908) Descriptions of new South-American reptiles. Annals Magazine Natural History, 8, 111–115.
Boulenger, G.A. (1913) A collection of batrachians and reptiles made by Dr. H. G. F. Spurrell, F. Z. S., in the Chocó. Colombia. Proceedings Zollogical Society, London, 1913, 1019–1038.
Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. (2005a) Report of molluscivory in Atractus carrioni Parker, 1930. Herpetozoa, 18, 185–186.
Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. (2005b) Rediscovery of the Ecuadorian snake Atractus dunni Savage, 1955 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Řada Přírodovědná, 174, 87–114.
Cope, E.D. (1868) Fourth contribution to the herpetology of Tropical America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1865, 185–198.
Cope, E.D. (1871) [dated 1870] Eighth contribution to herpetology of Tropical America. Proceedings American Philosophical Society, 11, 553–559.
Cunha, O.R. & Nascimento, F.P. (1983) As espécies de Atractus Wagler, 1828, na Amazônia Oriental e Maranhão. (Ophidia, Colubridae). Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 123, 1–38.
Cunha, O.R. & Nascimento, F.P. (1993) Ofídios da Amazônia. As cobras da região leste do Pará. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 9, 1–191.
Despax, R. (1910) Mission géodésique de l’Equateur. Collections recueillies par M. le Dr. Rivet. Liste des ophidians et description des espèces nouvelles. (Note préliminaire). Bulletin Musèe Histoire Naturale Paris, 16, 368–376.
Despax, R. (1911) Note préliminaire relative aux lézards rapportés de l’Equateur par le Dr. Rivet. Bulletin Musèe Histoire Naturale Paris, 17, 9–12.
Dixon, J.R. & Soini, P. (1977) The reptiles of the upper Amazon Basim, Iquitos Region, Peru. Contribuitions in Biology and Geology, Milwaukee Public Museum, 12, 1–91.
Dixon, J.R. & Soini, P. (1986) The Reptiles of the Upper Amazon Basin, Iquitos Region, Peru. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, E.U.A., 160 pp.
Dowling, H.G. (1951) A proposed standard system of counting ventrals in snakes. British Journal of Herpetology, 1, 97–99.
Dowling, H.G. (2004) On the structure of snake hemipenis with comments on their proper preparation for analysis. Herpetological Review, 35, 320–328.
Dowling, H.G. & Savage, J.M. (1960) A guide to the snake hemipenis: a survey of basic structure and systematic characteristics. Zoologica (NY), 45, 17–28.
Dunn, E.R. & Bailey, J. R. (1939) Snakes from the uplands of the Canal Zone and of Darien. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 86, 1–22.
Esqueda, L.F. & La Marca, E. (2005) Revisión taxionómica y biogeoráfica (Con descripción de cinco nuevas especies) del género Atractus (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) en los Andes de Venezuela. Herpetotropicos, 2, 1–32.
Fernandes, R. (1995) Phylogeny of the Dipsadine snakes. Unpubl. PhD. Thesis, Texas University, Arlington, U.S.A., 125 pp.
Giraudo, A.R. & Scrocchi, G.J. (2000) The genus Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Northeastern Argentina. Herpetological Journal, 10, 81–90.
Hoogmoed, M.S. (1980) Revision of the genus Atractus in Surinam, with the resurrection of two species (Colubridae, Reptilia). Notes on the herpetofauna of Surinam VII. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 175, 1–47.
ICZN (Internacional Commission on Zoological Nomenclature). (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Adopted by the International Union of Biological Sciences. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London, U.K., 126 pp.
Jan, G. & Sordelli, F. (1865) Iconographie générale des ophidians. Tome premier, livr. 15–19.
Lynch, J.D. & Suaréz-Mayorga, A.M. (2002) Un análisis biogeogáfico de los anfíbios del Chocó biogeoráfico. In: Rangel-Ch, J.O. (Ed.) Chocó. Colombia Diversidad Biótica IV. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Press, Bogotá D.C., Colombia.
Martins, M. & Oliveira, M.E. (1993) The snakes of the genus Atractus Wagler (Reptilia:Squamata: Colubridae) from the Manaus region, central Amazônia, Brazil. Zoologische Mededelingem, 69, 21–40.
Martins, M. & Oliveira, M.E. (1999) Natural history of snakes in forests of the Manaus region, Central Amazônia, Brazil. Herpetological Natural History, 6, 78–150.
Myers, C.W. (2003) Rare snakes–five new species from eastern Panama: reviews of northern Atractus and southern Geophis (Colubridae: Dipsadinae). American Museum Novitates, 3391, 1–47.
Myers, C.W. & Cadle, J.E. (2003) On the snake hemipenis, with notes on Psomophis and techniques of eversion: a response to Dowling. Herpological Review, 34, 295–302.
Myers, C.W. & Campbell, J.A. (1981) A new genus and species of colubrid snake from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero, Mexico. American Museum Novitates, 2708, 1–20.
Myers, C.W. & Schargel, W.E. (2006) Morphological extremes-Two new snakes of the genus Atractus from Northwestern South America (Colubridae: Dipsadinae). American Museum Novitaes, 3532, 1–13.
Passos, P. (2008). Revisão Taxonômica do Gênero Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae: Dipsadinae). Unpubl. PhD. Thesis, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 671 pp.
Passos, P., Aguayo, R. & Scrocchi, G. (In press b) Rediscovery of the rare Atractus bocki, with assessment of the taxonomic status of A. canedii (Serpentes: Colubridae: Dipsadinae). Journal of Herpetology, 43, 701–715.
Passos, P. & Arredondo, J.C. (2009). Rediscovery and redescription of the Andean earth-snake Atractus wagleri (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa, 1969, 59–68.
Passos, P., Arredondo, J.C., Fernandes, F. & Lynch, J.D. (2009a) Three new Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Andes of Colombia. Copeia, 2009, 425–436.
Passos, P., Chiesse, A., Torres-Carvajal, O. & Savage, J.M. (In press a) Testing species boundaries within Atractus occipitoalbus complex (Serpentes: Dipsadidae). Herpetologica.
Passos, P., Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. & Salazar-V, D. (2007a) Rediscovery and redescription of the rare Andean snake Atractus modestus. Herpetological Journal, 17, 1–6.
Passos, P., Fernandes, D.S. & Borges-Nojosa, D.M. (2007b) A new Species of Atractus (Serpentes: Dipsadinae) from a relictual forest in northeasten Brazil. Copeia, 2007, 788–797.
Passos, P. & Fernandes, R. (2008) A new species of colubrid snake genus Atractus (Reptilia: Serpentes) from central Amazon. Zootaxa, 1849, 59–66.
Passos, P., Fernandes, R., Bérnils, R.S. & Moura-Leite, J.C. (In press c) Revision of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest Atractus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Dipsadidae). Zootaxa.
Passos, P., Fernandes, R. & Zanella, N. (2005) A new species of Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae) from southern Brazil. Herpetologica, 61, 209–218.
Passos, P., Fuenmayor, G.R. & Barrio-Amorós, C. (2009b) Description of two new species from Venezuela in the highly diverse dipsadine genus Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae). Amphibia-Reptilia, 30, 233–243.
Passos, P. Lynch, J.D. & Fernandes, R. (2009c) Taxonomic status of Atractus sanctaemartae and A. nebularis, and description of a new species of Atractus from Atlantic coast of Colombia. Herpetological Journal, 18, 175–186.
Peracca, M. G. (1896) Sopra alcuni ofidii nuovi o poco noti dell’America meridionale. Bolletin Museo di Torino, 11, 1–12.
Peréz-Santos, C. & Moreno, A.G. (1988) Ofidios de Colombia. Museo Regionale di Scienza Naturale de Torino, Monografie 6, 1–512.
Pesantes, O. (1994) A method for preparing hemipenis of preserved snakes. Journal of Herpetology, 28, 93–95.
Peters, J.A. & Orejas-Miranda, B. (1970) Catalogue of the Neotropical Squanata: Part I. Snakes. Bulletin of the U. S. National Museum, 297, 1–347.
Prado, A. (1940) Notas ofiológicas. 4. Cinco espécies novas de serpentes colombianas do gênero Atractus Wagler. Memórias do Instituto Butantan, 12, 1–4.
Prudente, A.L.C. & Passos, P. (2008) New species of Atractus Wagler (Serpentes: Dipsadinae) from Guyana Plateau in Northern Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 42, 723–732.
Prudente, A.L.C. & Passos, P. (In press) New cryptic species of Atractus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from Brazilian Amazonia. Copeia.
Roze, J.A. (1961) El género Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae) en Venezuela. Acta Biologica Venezuelica, 3, 103–119.
Savage, J.M. (1960) A revision of the Ecuadorian snakes of the genus Atractus. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 112, 1–86.
Schargel, W.E. & García-Pérez, J.E. (2002) A new species and a new record of Atractus (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Andes of Venezuela. Journal of Herpetology, 36, 398–402.
Silva, J.J.H. (2004) Las serpientes del género Atractus Wagler, 1828 (Colubridae, Xenodontinae) en la Amazonia Colombiana. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Físicas, Exactas y Naturales, 28, 409–446.
Zaher, H. (1999) Hemipenial morphology of the South American xenodontine snakes, with a proposal for a monophyletic Xenodontinae and a reappraisal of colubroid hemipenes. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 240, 1–168.