A new species of Oxyrhopus Wagler, 1830 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from the Bolivian Andes

Abstract

We describe a new dipsadine snake species, of the genus Oxyrhopus Wagler, 1830, from the highlands of Bolivia. Oxyrhopus emberti sp. n. is diagnosed from its congeners based on external and hemipenial morphology. The new species inhabits the humid forests of Yungas and Tucumano-Bolivian Forest highlands, between 1.200 – 1.800 meters above sea level, and is likely to be a Bolivian endemic. We also discuss the relationships of the new species with Andean congeners and provide a key to the identification of the Oxyrhopus species from the Central Andes of Bolivia and Peru.

Key words
Pseudoboini; systematics; taxonomy; Xenodontinae