Xenodon guentheri, also known commonly as Günther's false fer-de-lance, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Brazil.
Etymology The specific name, guentheri, is in honor of German-British herpetologist Albert Günther.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Xenodon guentheri, p. 111).
Common names X. guentheri is known by several common names in Brazilian Portuguese including boipeva, chata, cobra-chata, and jararaca-falsa.Gonzalez RC, Abegg AD, Mendes DMM, Silva MB, Machado-Filho PR, Mario-da-Rosa C, Passos DC, Ribeiro MV, Benício RA, Oliveira JCF (2020). "Lista dos Nomes Populares dos Répteis no Brasil – Primeira Versão". Herpetologia Brasileira 9 (2): 121–214. (Xenodon guentheri, p. 193). (in Portuguese).
Geographic range X. guentheri is found in southern Brazil, in the Brazilian states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of X. guentheri is Araucaria angustifolia forest, at altitudes of .
Defensive Behavior When threatened, X. guentheri may exhibit defensive behaviors including body flattening, tail display, head triangulation, and fleeing.Abegg AD, Ceron K, Lhanos FH (2018). "Xenodon guentheri (Günther's False Fer-de-lance). Defensive Behavior". Herpetological Review 49 (1): 141–142.
Reproduction X. guentheri is oviparous.
References
Further reading Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Xenodon guentheri, new species, pp. 147–148 + Plate VII, figure 1, two views). Eiselt J (1963). "Zur Kenntnis der colubriden Schlangengattungen Procteria und Xenodon [= On the knowledge of the colubrid snake genera Procteria and Xenodon ]". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 66: 279–282. (in German). Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Xenodon guentheri, p. 113). Peters JA, Orejas-Miranda B (1970). "Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata. Part 1. Snakes". Bulletin of the United States National Museum (297): 1–347. (Xenodon guentheri, p. 323).