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Chironius diamantine. Photo credit: R. Santos
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The Neotropical colubrid genus Chironius contains a monophyletic assemblage of snakes having very
low (10 or 12) dorsal scale rows at midbody. Currently the genus includes 20
species of diurnal snakes distributed from Honduras south to Uruguay and
northeastern Argentina. Recently, a lectotype was designated for Chironius flavolineatus, a widespread
species in open formations of South America (particularly in the Cerrado and
Caatinga), with records from Marajó island, northern Brazil. Chironius flavolineatus is distinguishable
from other members of the genus by the presence of a conspicuous yellow
vertebral stripe bordered anteriorly by black. In a new Zootaxa paper, Fernandes
and Hamdan (2014) describe the 21st species of Chironius, C. diamantine which differs from other Chironius in the combination of its
color pattern, 2-4 temporal scales, an entire anal plate, 6-10 rows of dorsal
scales at midbody, and some other characters. The new species is known from
municipalities of Morro do Chapéu, Rio de Contas, and Palmeiras in the Chapada
Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. All specimens were found between sea level
1000 m asl. One individual was observed foraging about 3:00 PM on the banks of
a rocky river near a waterfall, a few minutes later plunged into the river and
remained there for about two minutes.
Citation
Fernandes
DS, & Hamdan B. 2014. A new species of Chironius
Fitzinger, 1826 from the state of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil (Serpentes:
Colubridae). Zootaxa, 3881(6), 563-575.