Check List 17(1): 239-245, doi: 10.15560/17.1.239
Finding a shadow in the dark: rediscovery of Fugler’s Shadow Snake (Emmochliophis fugleri Fritts & Smith, 1969) after 54 years, with comments on its conservation status, distribution, and the tribe Diaphorolepidini
Ross J. Maynard‡, Jaime Culebras§, Sebastian Kohn|, Juan M. Guayasamin¶, Scott J. Trageser‡‡ The Biodiversity Group, Tucson, United States of America§ Photo Wildlife Tours, Quito, Ecuador| Fundación Condor Andino, Quito, Ecuador¶ Instituto Biósfera-USFQ, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
Corresponding author: Ross J. Maynard ( rossisherpin@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Cord Eversole © Ross J. Maynard, Jaime Culebras, Sebastian Kohn, Juan M. Guayasamin, Scott J. Trageser. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Maynard RJ, Culebras J, Kohn S, Guayasamin JM, Trageser SJ (2021) Finding a shadow in the dark: rediscovery of Fugler’s Shadow Snake (Emmochliophis fugleri Fritts & Smith, 1969) after 54 years, with comments on its conservation status, distribution, and the tribe Diaphorolepidini. Check List 17(1): 239-245. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.1.239 |  |
Abstract
Herein we report the second known record of Emmochliophis fugleri Fritts & Smith, 1969, present the first color images of the species, extend its known distribution and elevational range, provide the snout–vent and tail lengths of the holotype, and demonstrate that the condition of fused prefrontals is an unreliable diagnostic character for the genus Diaphorolepis. Considering the rarity of this snake as well as the imminent threat that mining poses to the Río Manduriacu Reserve, we recommend a conservation status of Critically Endangered for E. fugleri.
Keywords
Critically Endangered, Ecuador, Imbabura, Río Manduriacu Reserve, threatened, threatened by mining