Dipsas is a genus of nonvenomous New World snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the 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 50 distinct species. The following species are recognized as being valid.. www.reptile-database.org.
Dipsas albifrons – Sauvage's snail-eater Dipsas alternans – Jan's snail-eater Dipsas andiana Dipsas aparatiritos Dipsas articulata – American snail-eater Dipsas baliomelas Dipsas bicolor – two-colored snail-eater Dipsas bobridgelyi – Bob Ridgely's snail-eater Dipsas bothropoides Dipsas brevifacies – snail-eating thirst snake, short-faced snail-eater Dipsas bucephala – neotropical snail-eater Dipsas catesbyi – Catesby's snail-eater Dipsas chaparensis Dipsas cisticeps – neotropical snail-eater Dipsas copei Dipsas elegans Dipsas ellipsifera Dipsas gaigeae – Gaige's thirst snail-eater, Gaige's thirst snake, zicatlinán Dipsas georgejetti – George Jett's snail-eater Dipsas gracilis – graceful snail-eater Dipsas incerta – Jan's snail-eater Dipsas indica – neotropical snail-eater Dipsas jamespetersi Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989 Dipsas klebbai – Klebba's snail-eate Dipsas latifrontalis – broad-fronted snail-eater, Venezuela snail-eater Dipsas lavillai Scrocchi, Porto & Rey, 1993 Dipsas maxillaris – Werner's thirst snake Dipsas mikanii (Schlegel, 1837) Dipsas neuwiedi (Ihering, 1911) – Neuwied's tree snake Dipsas nicholsi Dipsas oligozonata Orcés & Almendáriz, 1989 Dipsas oneilli Rossman & Thomas, 1979 – O'Neill's tree snake Dipsas oreas – Ecuador snail-eater Dipsas oswaldobaezi – Oswaldo Báez's snail-eater Dipsas pakaraima Dipsas palmeri – Palmer's snail-eater Dipsas pavonina – northern snail-eater
Dipsas peruana – Peruvian snail-eater, Peru snail-eater
Dipsas praeornata Dipsas pratti – Pratt's snail-eater Dipsas sanctijoannis – tropical snail-eater Dipsas sazimai , , (2010). "A new species of Dipsas Laurenti from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)". Zootaxa 2691: 57–66. Preview Dipsas schunkii – Schunk's snail-eater Dipsas temporalis – temporal snail-eater Dipsas tenuissima – Taylor's snail-eater Dipsas trinitatis – Trinidad snail-eater Dipsas turgida (Cope, 1868) – Bolivian tree snake Dipsas vagrans (Dunn, 1923) – Dunn's tree snake Dipsas vagus (Jan, 1863) – Jan's tree snake Dipsas variegata – variegated snail-eater Dipsas ventrimaculata (Boulenger, 1885) – Boulenger's tree snake Dipsas vermiculata – vermiculate snail-eater Dipsas viguieri – Bocourt's snail-eater Dipsas welborni Dipsas williamsi Carillo de Espinoza, 1974 – Williams's tree snake
Nota bene: A 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 , and rarely longer than . 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.; (2009). "Morphological variation and systematics of Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796) and Dipsas pavonina Schlegel, 1837 (Serpentes: Dipsadinae)". Zootaxa 2203: 31-48. Abstract & excerpt
Behavior and diet Species in the genus Dipsas are mostly arboreal snakes that mainly feed on land snails and slugs.
References
Further reading
Freiberg MA (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Genus Dipsas, pp. 93–94). 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. 89–90). (in Latin).