Geophis juarezi

Geophis juarezi
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Geophis
Species:	G. juarezi
Binomial name
Geophis juarezi Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2003

Geophis juarezi, also known commonly as Benito Juarez's earth snake and la minadora de Benito Juárez in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake of in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Mexico.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, juarezi, is in honor of Benito Juárez who was a president of Mexico.[3]

Geographic range

G. juarezi is endemic to the Mexican state of Oaxaca.[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. juarezi is forest, at altitudes around 800 m (2,600 ft).[1]

Description

G. juarezi is uniformly dark grayish brown dorsally. The dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows. On the posterior portion of the body, the dorsal scales are strongly keeled and have paired apical pits. The ventrals number 114 in the only known male, and 118–124 in the three known females. The subcaudals number 55 in the male, and 49 in the only known female with a complete tail.[2]

Behavior

G. juarezi is terrestrial.[1]

Reproduction

G. juarezi is oviparous.[2]

References

1. Flores-Villela O (2007). Geophis juarezi. In: IUCN 2007. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022.2.
2. Species Geophis juarezi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Geophis juarezi, p. 137).

Further reading

• Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN 978-3899731002.
• Mata-Silva V, Johnson JD, Wilson LD, García-Padilla E (2015). "The herpetofauna of Oaxaca, Mexico: composition, physiographic distribution, and conservation status". Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (1): 6–62.
• Nieto-Montes de Oca A (2003). "A New Species of the Geophis dubius Group (Squamata: Colubridae) from the Sierra de Juárez of Oaxaca, Mexico". Herpetologica 59 (4): 572–585. (Geophis juarezi, new species).
• Wilson LD, Townsend JH (2007). "A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation". Zootaxa 1395: 1–31. (Geophis juarezi, p. 12). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).