Zoosyst. Evol. 88 (1) 2012, 125–134 / DOI 10.1002/zoos.201200011 Discovery of a rare snail-eater snake in Venezuela (Dipsadinae, Dipsas pratti), with additions to its natural history and morphology Tito R. Barros1, z, Robert C. Jadin2, 3, z, Jos Rances Caicedo-Portilla4 and Gilson A. Rivas*,1 1 Museo de Biologa, Facultad Experimental de Ciencias, La Universidad del Zulia, Apartado Postal 526, Maracaibo 4011, Estado Zulia, Venezuela 2 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, N122 Ramaley, campus box 334, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309–0334, USA 3 Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Research Center, Box 19498, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019–0498, USA 4 Laboratorio de Anfibios, Grupo de Cladistica Profunda y Biogeografa Histrica, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogot D.C., Colombia Abstract Received 25 May 2011 The snail-eating snakes that inhabit the Sierra de Perij, of both Colombia and Vene- Accepted 10 October 2011 zuela, have received little attention in part because of the difficult accessibility of this Published 16 March 2012 area, due to the roughness of the terrain and the geopolitical boarder instability in this region. One of the rarest and least known snail-eaters, Dipsas pratti (type species of its group, sensu Peters 1960), is known from 13 specimens (including the holotype). Since its original description in 1897, all known specimens of D. pratti have been collected Key Words from the Cordillera Central and Oriental of Colombia. In this study, we greatly improve our knowledge of the biology of D. pratti based primarily on nine newly collected spe- Behaviour cimens. Seven of these specimens are the first recorded from Venezuela, expanding the Colombia known range of this species by approximately 300 km to the northeast. These speci- Colubridae mens provide additional information on external, reproductive, and hemipenial mor- Distribution phology, habitat, and defensive behaviors of the species. Additionally, we provide the Hemipenis first in-life photographs of D. pratti. This study sheds light on the biodiversity in a Reproduction unique and underexplored region as well as bridging a critical knowledge gap in our understanding of an understudied group of Neotropical snakes. Introduction an extension of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. These surveys led to the discovery of Venezuelan popu- Recently, research on the taxonomy and systematics of lations of reptile species formerly known only from Co- South American snail-eating snakes of the genus Dip- lombia (e.g., Manzanilla et al. 1998, 1999; Rivas et al. sas has increased (e.g., McCulloch & Lathrop 2004; 2002; Harvey et al. 2004). Dipsas perijanensis Alemn, Cadle 2005; Harvey 2008; Harvey et al. 2008; Harvey 1953 was described more than 50 years ago on the Ve- & Embert 2008). However, many secretive species from nezuelan side of the Sierra de Perij and until recently northern South America remain poorly studied and known only from a single specimen. Recent research in knowledge of behavior, evolution, and natural history is the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia has also contributed still lacking. This paucity of information can be attrib- to additional specimens of this species, which resulted uted to a lack of fieldwork in many regions of northern in the allocation of the species to a new genus, Plesio- South America. Despite safety concerns at the north- dipsas Harvey et al., 2008. west border between Colombia and Venezuela, a few The description of Dipsas [Leptognathus] pratti herpetological surveys have been conducted since 1989 (Boulenger, 1897) was based on a single female speci- in the Sierra de Perij – a mountain chain considered men (Fig. 1) collected in Medelln, Colombia by A. E. z Authors contributed equally to this work. * Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] # 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 126 Barros, T. et al.: Discovery of Dipsas pratti in Venezuela Figure 1. Holotype of Leptognathus pratti (BMNH 1946.1.20.52, formerly 97.11.12.19) showing the full body (a) and dorsal (b), right side (c), and ventral (d) views of the head. Original image (a) had forceps obscuring tail near tip and was therefore altered. Photographs by Colin J. McCarthy. Pratt. After Boulenger’s description, four species of Dip- for Museo de Biologa de la Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo sas were described and later determined to be ontoge- (MBLUZ), Museo de Historia Natural La Salle, Caracas (MHNLS), netic variants of D. pratti and therefore all synonymized and Coleccin Herpetologica de la Universidad Industrial de Santan- der, Bucaramanga (UIS). All seven Venezuelan specimens are from with D. pratti (Peters 1960; see taxonomic account be- the Sierra de Perij, Municipio Villa del Rosario, ca. 1600 m elev. low). Although D. pratti has been designated as the type The first four were collected in May 2007 (MBLUZ 889 and species for a group (Peters 1960; Harvey 2008), it is MBUCV 6837), February 2008 (EBRG 4888) and September 2008 known from 13 specimens and its natural and evolution- (EBRG 4820) by Rafael Alastre while two additional specimens were ary histories are still poorly understood. Until recently obtained by GRF, TB, and R. Alastre on 22 June 2007 (MBLUZ 892 the species was known only from the Cordillera Central and UTA R-57479). MHNLS 18799, a juvenile was collected at the and Cordillera Oriental regions of Colombia, where it same place by Pedro Cabello on 26 March 2008. All specimens were observed crossing a dirt road through the cloud forest (Fig. 2) at was recently reported in the departments of Santander night, ca. 1900–2000 h. To facilitate comparisons of standard diag- and Bolvar (Moreno-Arias et al. 2006). nostic characters with other Dipsas species, we follow the format of In 2007 and 2008, seven specimens of Dipsas pratti Harvey (2008). were collected from the Venezuelan side of the Sierra Although Harvey & Embert (2008) described the hemipenes of nu- de Perij. These specimens represent some important merous Dipsas species, the hemipenis of D. pratti has not been de- records since the first scientific explorations to the scribed fully. The hemipenes of the adult male specimen (UTA R- Sierra de Perij were conducted in the late 1940s and 57479) were nearly fully everted during preservation. The left organ was removed and prepared following the methods of Myers & Cadle early 1950s (Alemn 1953). In addition to being a new (2003) and Zaher & Prudente (2003) with the addition of blue petro- record for Venezuela, these new specimens provide the leum jelly inserted into the hemipenis during eversion, as described opportunity to increase the knowledge of the morphol- and illustrated in Smith & Ferrari-Castro (2008) and Jadin & Smith ogy of D. pratti and better understand its distribution, (2010). A dissecting microscope and optical micrometer were used behaviours, and natural history. Finally, we provide the for measuring the hemipenis. Terminology follows Dowling & Savage first in-life photographs of the species. (1960), Myers & Campbell (1981), and Harvey & Embert (2008). Material and methods Results We collected meristic and continuous measurements from 19 speci- mens of Dipsas pratti, including seven new specimens from Zulia Dipsas [Leptognathus] pratti (Boulenger, 1897) state, Venezuela (Appendix). We used a string and meter stick to measure snout-vent and tail lengths and digital calipers for all other Leptognathus pratti Boulenger, 1897: 523 [BMNH 1946.1.20.52, Me- measurements. Museum acronyms follow Leviton et al. (1985), except delln, Antioquia Colombia] museum-zoosyst.evol.wiley-vch.de # 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Zoosyst. Evol. 88 (1) 2012, 125–134 127 Figure 2. Road that all the Venezuelan specimens were crossing when collected (a). This road runs through cloud forest (a and b) on the Venezuelan side of the Sierra de Perij, 1600 m. Photographs by Tito Barros (a) and Pablo Velozo (b). Leptognathus triseriatus Cope, 1899: 13 [AMNH R-17525, New very humid, with premontane and montane forests. This Granada, Colombia] area is part of a larger biome, which in Perij covers an Leptognathus nigriceps Werner, 1916: 310 [Coon (sic) del Tolima, area of 1,811 km2. The temperature in the high peaks Colombia] fluctuates between 16 24 C with annual rain accumu- Dipsas niceforoi Prado, 1940: 14 [MLS 165, Quindo, Colombia] – Dipsas tolimensis Prado, 1941: 345 [Tolima, Lbano, Colombia] lations between 2,000 and 4,000 mm. Rain regimes are Dipsas pratti Peters (1960: 112) [synonymization of Dipsas niceforoi, bimodal and tetra-seasonal; the area has dry periods on D. tolimenesis, Leptognathus nigriceps and L. triseriatus with December–March and June–August, and rainy periods D. pratti] from April–June and August–November. The Venezuelan specimens were collected early in Distribution. Specimens collected during this study the morning or between late evening and night. Appar- from the Sierra de Perij, Estado Zulia, Venezuela re- ently, these snakes often cross the open road on the present the first records for Venezuela and northern- summit and according to this peculiar habit their col- most localities for the species, extending the known lection in this locality has been relatively easy. range approximately 300 km northeast from the nearest locality in the Cordillera Central of Colombia (San Diagnosis. Dipsas pratti is a robust snake of the tribe Pedro Frio, Bolvar, 1600 m). All other known speci- Dipsadini defined by the following characters: