Rhadinella godmani

Rhadinella godmani
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:	Rhadinella
Species:	R. godmani
Binomial name
Rhadinella godmani (Günther, 1865)
Synonyms[2][3]
Dromicus godmanni [sic] Günther, 1865 Rhadinæa godmanni — Cope, 1876 Coronella godmani [sic] Günther, 1893 (emendation) Rhadinæa godmani — Boulenger, 1894 Rhadinaea altamontana Taylor, 1954 Rhadinaea binfordi Rossman, 1965 Rhadinaea godmani — J. Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970 Rhadinella godmani — C. Myers, 2011

Rhadinella godmani, also known commonly as Godman's graceful brown snake, and as la culebra-café de Godman and la lagartijerita de Godman in American Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and southern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.

Geographic range

R. godmani is found in extreme southeastern Mexico, in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, and in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama.[1][3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of R. godmani is forest, at altitudes of 1,200–2,650 m (3,940–8,690 ft), but has also been found in pasture land.[1]

Description

The longest specimen in the type series of R. godmani has total length of 44.5 cm (17.5 in), which includes a tail 13 cm (5.1 in) long.[2] The dorsal scales are arranged in 21 rows throughout the length of the body.[3]

Reproduction

R. godmani is oviparous.[1][3]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

• Rhadinella godmani godmani (Günther, 1865)
• Rhadinella godmani zilchi (Mertens, 1952)

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

Etymology

The specific name, godmani, is in honor of British naturalist Frederick DuCane Godman.[4]

The subspecific name, zilchi, is in honor of German malacologist Adolf Michael Zilch.[5]

References

1. Köhler, G.; Chaves, G.; Porras, L.W.; Solórzano, A. (2013). "Rhadinella godmani ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T198402A128556013. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. 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. (Rhadinæa godmani, pp. 179–180).
3. Species Rhadinella godmani at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
4. 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. (Godman, p. 102).
5. Mertens R (1952).

Further reading

• Günther A (1865). "Fourth Account of new Species of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Third Series 15: 89–98 + Plates II–III. ("Dromicus Godmanni [sic]", new species, p. 94).
• Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN 978-3899731002.
• McCranie JR, Wilson LD (1992). "Rhadinaea godmani ". Catalogue of American Amphibian and Reptiles 546: 1–3.
• Mertens R (1952). "Neues über die Reptilienfauna von El Salvador ". Zoologischer Anzeiger 148: 87–93. (Rhadinaea zilchi, new species, p. 92). (in German).
• Myers CW (2011). "A New Genus and New Tribe for Enicognathus melanauchen Jan, 1863, a Neglected South American Snake (Colubridae: Xenodontinae), with Taxonomic Notes on Some Dipsadinae". American Museum Novitates (3715): 1–33. (Rhadinella godmani, new combination).