Hi there,
Just looking for help in trying to ID this snake I found on a night hike in Tayrona NP in Colombia. I'm assuming it's some kind of Oxyrhopos, but not sure. Despite it being on a branch, where I placed it, I found it on the ground.
Thanks,
Mark
Snake ID
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: Snake ID
Ok think I got the pic attached this time
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Re: Snake ID
Taken from the paper: Snakes of the genus Oxyrhopus (Colubridae: Squamata) in Colombia: taxonomy and geographic variation
by John D. Lynch
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Apartado Aéreo 7495, Bogotá, Colombia
Four species of Oxyrhopus occur in Colombia, one (O. leucomelas) of which is Andean and the other three occur in lowlands. No geographic variation was detected in O. occipitalis but there is marked geographic variation in color pattern and scutellation for the widely distributed O. petola. Recognition of subspecies within O. petola is possible but appears to obscure more than it illuminates. The snake previously reported as O. melanogenys or O. aff. melanogenys is diagnosed as a previously unrecognized species.
This one looks like Oxyrhopus occipitalis but the color variations are vast and without scale comparisons, it's hard to tell for the picture alone.
Desertsnakeman
by John D. Lynch
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Apartado Aéreo 7495, Bogotá, Colombia
Four species of Oxyrhopus occur in Colombia, one (O. leucomelas) of which is Andean and the other three occur in lowlands. No geographic variation was detected in O. occipitalis but there is marked geographic variation in color pattern and scutellation for the widely distributed O. petola. Recognition of subspecies within O. petola is possible but appears to obscure more than it illuminates. The snake previously reported as O. melanogenys or O. aff. melanogenys is diagnosed as a previously unrecognized species.
This one looks like Oxyrhopus occipitalis but the color variations are vast and without scale comparisons, it's hard to tell for the picture alone.
Desertsnakeman
Re: Snake ID
Many thanks for the info and for helping to narrow it down! Think you may be right about it being O. occipitalis. Too bad I didn't get better pics to be more sure though. Thanks again,
Mark
Mark