Rediscovery of the enigmatic forest racer snake, Dendrophidion boshelli Dunn, 1944 (Serpentes, Colubridae): actions for the conservation of a critically endangered species

By

Rojas-Morales, Julián Andrés
Marín-Martínez, Mateo
Zuluaga-Isaza, Juan Camilo

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-12-30

Original Publication

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

Volume

14

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

577--589

Subjects

Colombia , endemic and threatened species , espécies ameaçadas , habitat preservation , Magdalena River valley , preservação de hábitat , Serpentes , Snakes , vale do rio Magdalena

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Brazil Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.14.e39572

 

Abstract

Dendrophidion boshelliis a poorly known and endemic snake species from the Middle Magdalena river valley in Colombia. It was described in 1944 based on a single specimen from the municipality of Caparrapí, department of Cundinamarca. Since the original description, only three additional specimens have been established. As part of the results of a herpetological monitoring in the Miel I Hydroelectric project, department of Caldas-Colombia, three additional specimens ofD. boshelliwere found in 2014–2015. The specimens represent the second known population of the species. We presented morphological data and pholidosis; description of the coloration in life, and a description of the habitat. Recently,D. boshelliwas included as a Critically Endangered (CR) species in the Red Book of Reptiles of Colombia, and the IUCN Redlist. For this reason, to promote the local conservation of this and other endemic and threatened species in the Miel I area, we suggested some actions at the local level, such as establishing a conservation area with legal status in the Middle Manso River basin, which is a tributary of the Miel I Hydroelectric project.