View source for Dipsas

{{Short description|Genus of snakes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Dipsas catesbyi in Ecuador.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Dipsas catesbyi]]'' in Ecuador
| taxon = Dipsas
| authority = [[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti]], 1768
}}
'''''Dipsas''''' is a [[genus]] of non[[venomous]] [[New World]] [[snake]]s in the [[subfamily]] [[Dipsadinae]] of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Colubridae]]. The genus ''Sibynomorphus'' has been moved here. Species of the genus ''Dipsas'' are known as '''snail-eaters'''.
==Taxonomy==
The genus ''Dipsas'' includes over 30 distinct [[species]].<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS|id=585657|taxon=''Dipsas ''|accessdate=10 February 2011}}</ref>
The following species are recognized as being valid.<ref>{{EMBL genus|genus=Dipsas}}. www.reptile-database.org.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*''[[Dipsas albifrons]]'' {{small|([[Henri Émile Sauvage|Sauvage]], 1884)}} – Sauvage's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas alternans]]'' {{small|([[Johann Gustav Fischer|Fischer]], 1885)}} – Jan's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas andiana]]'' {{small|([[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1896)}}
*''[[Dipsas aparatiritos]]'' {{small|([[species:Julie M. Ray|Ray]], [[species:Paola Sánchez-Martínez|Sánchez-Martínez]], [[species:Abel Batista|Batista]], [[species:Daniel Gerard Mulcahy|Mulcahy]], [[species:Coleman M, Sheehy|Sheehy]], [[species:Eric Nelson Smith|E.N. Smith]], [[species:Robert Alexander Pyron|Pyron]] & [[species:Alejandro Arteaga|Arteaga]], 2023)}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=Julie M. |author1-link=species:Julie M. Ray |last2=Sánchez-Martínez |first2=Paola |author2-link=species:Paola Sánchez-Martínez |last3=Batista |first3=Abel |author3-link=species:Abel Batista |last4=Mulcahy |first4=Daniel G. |author4-link=species:Daniel Gerard Mulcahy |last5=Sheehy |first5=Coleman M. III |author5-link=species:Coleman M. Sheehy |last6=Smith |first6=Eric N. |author6-link=species:Eric Nelson Smith |last7=Pyron |first7=R. Alexander |author7-link=species:Robert Alexander Pyron |last8=Arteaga |first8=Alejandro |author8-link=species:Alejandro Arteaga |date=2023-03-02 |title=A new species of ''Dipsas'' (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from central Panama |url=https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/96616/ |journal=ZooKeys |language=en |issue=1145 |pages=131–167 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.1145.96616 |issn=1313-2970|doi-access=free |pmc=10208233 }}</ref>
*''[[Dipsas articulata]]'' {{small|([[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1868)}} – American snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas baliomelas]]'' {{small|[[species:Michael B. Harvey|Harvey]], 2008}}
*''[[Dipsas bicolor]]'' {{small|([[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1895)}} – two-colored snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas bobridgelyi]]'' {{small|Arteaga et al., 2018}} – Bob Ridgely's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas bothropoides]]'' {{small|[[species:Konrad Mebert|Mebert]], [[species:Paulo Passos|Passos]], [[species:Daniel Fernandes da Silva|Fernandes]], [[species:Omar Machado Entiauspe-Neto|Entiauspe-Neto]], [[species:Fátima Queiroz Alvez|Queiroz-Alvez]], [[species:Alessandra Silveira Machado|Machado]] & [[species:Ricardo Tadeu Lopes|Lopes]], 2020}}
*''[[Dipsas brevifacies]]'' {{small|(Cope, 1866)}} – snail-eating thirst snake, short-faced snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas bucephala]]'' {{small|([[George Shaw (biologist)|Shaw]], 1802)}} – neotropical snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas catesbyi]]'' {{small|([[Ulrich Jasper Seetzen|Sentzen]], 1796)}} – Catesby's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas chaparensis]]'' {{small|[[species:Robert Paul Reynolds|Reynolds]] & [[Mercedes S. Foster|Foster]], 1992}}
*''[[Dipsas cisticeps]]'' {{small|([[Oskar Boettger|Boettger]], 1885)}} – neotropical snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas copei]]'' {{small|(Günther, 1872)}}
*''[[Dipsas elegans]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1896)}}
*''[[Dipsas ellipsifera]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1898)}}
*''[[Dipsas gaigeae]]'' {{small|([[James Arthur Oliver|Oliver]], 1937)}} – Gaige's thirst snail-eater, Gaige's thirst snake, ''zicatlinán''
*''[[Dipsas georgejetti]]'' {{small|Arteaga et al., 2018}} – George Jett's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas gracilis]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1902)}} – graceful snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas incerta]]'' {{small|([[Giorgio Jan|Jan]], 1863)}} – Jan's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas indica]]'' {{small|[[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti]], 1768}} – neotropical snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas jamespetersi]]'' <small>[[species:Gustavo Orcés-Villagómez|Orcés]] & [[species:Ana Almendáriz|Almendáriz]], 1989</small>
*''[[Dipsas klebbai]]'' {{small|Arteaga et al., 2018}} – Klebba's snail-eate
*''[[Dipsas latifrontalis]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1905)}} – broad-fronted snail-eater, Venezuela snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas lavillai]]'' <small>[[species:Gustavo José Scrocchi|Scrocchi]], [[species:Marcovan Porto|Porto]] & [[species:Laura Rey|Rey]], 1993</small>
*''[[Dipsas maxillaris]]'' {{small|([[Franz Werner|F. Werner]], 1910)}} – Werner's thirst snake
*''[[Dipsas mikanii]]'' <small>([[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1837)</small>
*''[[Dipsas neuwiedi]]'' <small>([[:pt:Rodolpho von Ihering|Ihering]], 1911)</small> – Neuwied's tree snake
*''[[Dipsas nicholsi]]'' {{small|([[Emmett Reid Dunn|Dunn]], 1933)}}
*''[[Dipsas oligozonata]]'' <small>Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989</small>
*''[[Dipsas oneilli]]'' <small>[[Douglas A. Rossman|Rossman]] & [[Richard Thomas (herpetologist)|Thomas]], 1979</small> – O'Neill's tree snake
*''[[Dipsas oreas]]'' {{small|(Cope, 1868)}} – Ecuador snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas oswaldobaezi]]'' {{small|Arteaga et al., 2018}} – Oswaldo Báez's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas pakaraima]]'' {{small|[[species:Ross D. MacCulloch|MacCulloch]] & [[species:Amy Lathrop|Lathrop]], 2004}}
*''[[Dipsas palmeri]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1912)}} – Palmer's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas pavonina]]'' {{small|[[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1837}} – northern snail-eater
<!-- *''[[Dipsas perijanensis]]'' {{small|([[César Alemán G.|Alemán]], 1953)}}-->
*''[[Dipsas peruana]]'' {{small|(Boettger, 1898)}} – Peruvian snail-eater, Peru snail-eater
<!-- *''[[Dipsas poecilolepis]]'' {{small|(Amaral, 1923)}} -->
<!-- *''[[Dipsas polylepis]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1912)}} -->
*''[[Dipsas praeornata]]'' {{small|(F. Werner, 1909)}}
*''[[Dipsas pratti]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1897)}} – Pratt's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas sanctijoannis]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1911)}} – tropical snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas sazimai]]'' {{small|Fernandes, [[species:Ótavio Augusto Vuolo Marques|Marques]] & [[species:Antônio Jorge Suzart Argôlo|Argôlo]], 2010}}<ref>{{smallcaps|[[species:Daniel Fernandes da Silva|Fernandes DS]]}}, {{smallcaps|[[species:Ótavio Augusto Vuolo Marques|Marques OAV]]}}, {{smallcaps|[[species:Antônio Jorge Suzart Argôlo|Argôlo AJS]]}} (2010). "A new species of ''Dipsas'' Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/index.html ''Zootaxa''] '''2691''': 57–66. [http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/z02691p066f.pdf Preview]</ref>
*''[[Dipsas schunkii]]'' {{small|(Boulenger, 1908)}} – Schunk's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas temporalis]]'' {{small|(F. Werner, 1909)}} – temporal snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas tenuissima]]'' {{small|[[Edward Harrison Taylor|Taylor]], 1954}} – Taylor's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas trinitatis]]'' {{small|[[Hampton Wildman Parker|Parker]], 1926}} – Trinidad snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas turgida]]'' <small>(Cope, 1868)</small> – Bolivian tree snake
*''[[Dipsas vagrans]]'' <small>(Dunn, 1923)</small> – Dunn's tree snake
*''[[Dipsas vagus]]'' <small>(Jan, 1863)</small> – Jan's tree snake
*''[[Dipsas variegata]]'' {{small|([[André Marie Constant Duméril|A.M.C. Duméril]], [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]] & [[Auguste Duméril|A.H.A. Duméril]], 1854)}} – variegated snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas ventrimaculata]]'' <small>([[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1885)</small> – Boulenger's tree snake
*''[[Dipsas vermiculata]]'' {{small|[[James A. Peters|J.A. Peters]], 1960}} –  vermiculate snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas viguieri]]'' {{small|([[Marie Firmin Bocourt|Bocourt]], 1884)}} – Bocourt's snail-eater
*''[[Dipsas welborni]]'' {{small|Arteaga & Batista, 2023}}
*''[[Dipsas williamsi]]'' <small>[[species:Nelly Carillo Tarazona de Espinoza|Carillo de Espinoza]], 1974</small> – Williams's tree snake
{{div col end}}
''[[Nota bene]]'': A [[Binomial nomenclature|binomial authority]] in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Dipsas''.
==Description==
''Dipsas'' species are slender, small to medium-sized snakes, often no longer than {{Convert|60|cm|in|abbr=on}}, and rarely longer than {{Convert|100|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Coloration and color pattern may vary, but often consist of black and brown, frequently with alternating rings separated by white.
==Distribution and habitat==
[[Species]] in the genus ''Dipsas'' are found from southern Mexico through Central America and South America, as far as Argentina and Paraguay.<ref name="LIMA">{{smallcaps|de Lima, Ana Caroline}}; {{smallcaps|[[species:Ana Lúcia da Costa Prudente|da Costa Prudente, Ana Lúcia]]}} (2009). "Morphological variation and systematics of ''Dipsas catesbyi'' (Sentzen, 1796) and ''Dipsas pavonina'' Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae)". [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/index.html ''Zootaxa''] '''2203''': 31-48. [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/z02203p048f.pdf Abstract & excerpt]</ref><ref name="CADLE">{{cite journal|last=Cadle|first=John E.|author-link=species:John E. Cadle |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3099/0027-4100%282005%29158%5B67%3ASOSOTD%5D2.0.CO%3B2 |title=Systematics of snakes of the ''Dipsas oreas'' complex (Colubridae: Dipsadinae) in western Ecuador and Peru, with revalidation of ''D. elegans'' (Boulenger) and ''D. ellipsifera'' (Boulenger)|journal=Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology|volume=158|issue=3|pages=67–136|year=2005|doi=10.3099/0027-4100(2005)158[67:SOSOTD]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=33701271 |access-date=2011-02-11}}</ref>
==Behavior and diet==
Species in the genus ''Dipsas'' are mostly [[arboreal]] snakes that mainly feed on [[land snail]]s and [[slug]]s.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikispecies}}
*[[:es:Marcos Abraham Freiberg|Freiberg MA]] (1982). ''Snakes of South America.'' Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. {{ISBN|0-87666-912-7}}. (Genus ''Dipsas'', pp.&nbsp;93–94).
*[[Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti|Laurenti JN]] (1768). ''Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum.'' Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (''Dipsas'', new genus, pp.&nbsp;89–90). (in Latin).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2713699}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Dipsas| ]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Central America]]
[[Category:Reptiles of South America]]
[[Category:Snake genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti]]