Xenopholis werdingorum

Xenopholis werdingorum
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:	Xenopholis
Species:	X. werdingorum
Binomial name
Xenopholis werdingorum Jansen, L. Álvarez & G. Köhler, 2009

Xenopholis werdingorum is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America.

Etymology

The specific name, werdingorum (genitive, plural), is in honor of the Werding family of Bolivia, on whose hacienda the holotype was collected.[2]

Taxonomy

X. werdingorum is the most recently described (2009) of the three species in the genus Xenopholis.[3]

Geographic range

X. werdingorum is found in Bolivia (Santa Cruz Department) and adjacent Brazil.[3]

Description

Dorsally X. werdingorum is uniformly dark brown with an iridescent sheen. Ventrally, it is yellowish orange. The color transition on the flanks is gradual.[3] Adults have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of about 40 cm (16 in), with a tail about 5 cm (2.0 in) long.[4]

Reproduction

The mode of reproduction of X. werdingorum is unknown.[3]

References

1. Gonzales, L.; Nogueira, C. de C. (2021). "Xenopholis werdingorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T15183719A15183721. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. 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. (Xenopholis werdingorum, p. 281).
3. Species Xenopholis werdingorum at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
4. Powell, Randy L., et al. (2016).

Further reading

• Costa, Henrique Caldeira; Bérnils, Renato Silveira (2015). "Répteis brasileiros: lista de espécies 2015 ". Herpetologia Brasileira 4 (3): 75–93. (in Portuguese).
• Jansen, Martin; Álvarez, Lucindo Gonzales; Köhler, Gunther (2009). "Description of a new species of Xenopholis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Cerrado of Bolivia, with comments on Xenopholis scalaris in Bolivia". Zootaxa 2222: 31–45. (Xenopholis werdingorum, new species). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).
• Powell, Randy L.; Eversole, Cord Blake; Crocker, Ashton V.; Lizarro, Dennis; Bravo, Reinaldo Cholima (2016). "Xenopholis werdingorum, Jansen, Álvarez & Köhler, 2009 (Squamata: Dipsadidae): range extension with comments on distribution". Check List 12 (5): 1–3.