Geophis dunni

Geophis dunni, Dunn's earth snake, is a species of enigmatic snake in the family Colubridae. The species is presumably endemic to Nicaragua and is only known from a single specimen discovered in 1932.^[2][3] This specimen, the holotype, was discovered by Karl Patterson Schmidt in the stomach of a Central American coral snake, and no additional specimen has been seen since.^[2][4] The holotype has a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 310 mm (12 in), a tail length of 57 mm (2.2 in), and a total length of 367 mm (14.4 in).^[2][4][5] It is part of the Geophis sieboldi species group according to Floyd Leslie Downs.^[6][5][7] This species was named by Schmidt after fellow herpetologist Emmett Reid Dunn^[8] "in allusion to his important contributions to our knowledge of this group of snakes".^[2]

Geophis dunni
The only known specimen of Geophis dunni
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Geophis
Species:	G. dunni
Binomial name
Geophis dunni Schmidt, 1932

This species is little known for several reasons. Snakes of the genus Geophis are fossorial and nocturnal, and as such are rarely observed in their natural habitat even by those actively searching for them. Also, the snakes of this genus form extensive species complexes in which the only way to tell them apart is by slight differences.^[7] For example, Geophis dunni differs from other species by having 17 dorsal scale rows, 8 infralabial scales, and 140 ventral scales.^[4] Additionally, the type locality given by Schmidt is very vague, only being "Matagalpa, Nicaragua". Matagalpa is both a city and a municipality, and no data for elevation or habitat type were specified either. However, Downs would mark a location in north Nicaragua at an elevation of 705 m (2,313 ft) as being the type locality of this snake,^[6][5] but this location is exactly the city of Matagalpa and has been questioned by other papers on its accuracy.^[4] As of 2022, Geophis dunni remains "data deficient" until another individual is collected and a habitat is identified.

Geophis dunni drawn by Floyd Leslie Downs, 1967

Reproduction

G. dunni is oviparous.^[3]

References

1. Wilson, L.D.; Townsend, J.H.; Luque, I.; Stafford, P. (2013). "Geophis dunni ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T176807A1448010. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T176807A1448010.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. Schmidt, Karl (12 April 1932). "Stomach Contents of Some American Coral Snakes, with the Description of a New Species of Geophis". Copeia. 1932 (1): 6–9. doi:10.2307/1437020. JSTOR 1437020 – via JSTOR. (Geophis dunni, new species).
3. Geophis dunni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 December 2018.
4. Townsend, Josiah H. (2006). "Geophis dunni " (PDF). Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (CAAR) – via Texas ScholarWorks.
5. Savage, Jay M.; Watling, James I. (20 August 2007). "Not so rare snakes: a revision of the Geophis sieboldi group (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in lower Central America and Colombia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 153 (3): 561–599. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.865.1053. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00400.x.
6. Downs, Floyd (26 July 1967). "Intrageneric Relationships Among Colubrid Snakes of the Genus Geophis Wagler" (PDF). Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 131 – via University of Michigan Library.
7. Wilson, Larry David; Townsend, Josiah (January 2007). "A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation". Zootaxa. 1395 (1): 1–31. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1395.1.1 – via ResearchGate.
8. 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. (Geophis dunni, p. 77).