Geophis sartorii

Geophis sartorii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Geophis
Species:	G. sartorii
Binomial name
Geophis sartorii (Cope, 1863)
Synonyms[2]
Tropidodipsas sartorii Cope, 1863 Galedon annularis Jan, 1863 Leptognathus dumerilii Jan, 1863 Geophis annulatus W. Peters, 1870 Leptognathus sexcutatus Bocourt, 1884 Leptognathus leucostomus Bocourt, 1884 Leptognathus semicinctus Bocourt, 1884 Leptognathus (Tropidodipsas) bernoulii F. Müller, 1887 Leptognathus (Tropidodipsas) cuculliceps F. Müller, 1887 Sibon sartorii — Kofron, 1985 Geophis sartorii — C. Grünwald et al., 2021

Geophis sartorii, also known commonly as Sartorius' snail-sucker and the terrestrial snail sucker, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southern North America and Central America. There are two recognized subspecies.

Etymology

The specific name, sartorii, is in honor of German-born Mexican naturalist Christian Carl Wilhelm Sartorius.[3]

Geographic range

G. sartorii is found in southeastern Mexico, and in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of G. sartorii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).[1]

Description

G. sartorii may attain a snout-to-vent length of 48 cm (19 in) with a tail length of 14 cm (5.5 in). The body is black, with 16–20 narrow rings, which are yellowish to reddish in color.[4]

Diet

G. sartorii preys upon snails.[1]

Reproduction

G. sartorii is oviparous.[2]

Mimicry

G. sartorii mimicks Micrurus elegans, a species of venomous coral snake with which it is sympatric.[2]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

• Geophis sartorius macdougalli (H.M. Smith, 1943)
• Geophis sartorii sartorii (Cope, 1863)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Geophis.

References

1. Lee J, Mandujano RC, Townsend J, Luque I, Ariano D (2020). Tropidodipsas sartorii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020. Accessed on 17 March 2023.
2. Species Geophis sartorii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. 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. (Sibon sartorii, p. 233).
4. Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Tropidodipsas sartorii, pp. 296–297).

Further reading

• Cope ED (1863). "Descriptions of new American SQUAMATA in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 15: 100–106. (Tropidodipsas sartorii, new species, p. 100).
• De Luna, Manuel; García-Barrios, Roberto (2022). "GEOPHIS SARTORII (Terrestrial Snail Sucker). DIET". Herpetological Review 53 (3): 509–510.
• Goldberg SR (2017). "TROPIDODIPSAS SARTORII (Terrestrial Snail Sucker). REPRODUCTION". Herpetological Review 48 (4): 869.
• Grünwald CI, Toribio-Jiménez S, Montaño-Ruvalcaba C, Franz-Chávez H, Peñaloza-Montaño MA, Barrera-Nava EY, Jones JM, Rodriguez CM, Hughes IM, Strickland JL, Reyes-Velasco J (2021). "Two new species of snail-eating snakes of the genus Tropidodipsas (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from Southern Mexico, with notes on related species". Herpetozoa 34: 233–257. (Geophis sartorii, new combination). (in English, with abstracts in Spanish and German).
• Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt, Germany: Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN 978-3899731002.
• Smith HM (1943). "A new snake of the genus Tropidodipsas from Mexico". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 33: 371–373. (Tropidodipsas macdougalli, new species).