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Swift Spotbelly Snake (Coniophanes dromiciformis)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Coniophanes dromiciformis
English common name: Swift Spotbelly Snake.
Spanish common name: Culebra ventripunteada veloz.
Recognition: ♂♂ 38.1 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=25 cm. ♀♀ 42.3 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=28.5 cm..1 Coniophanes dromiciformis is a small snake that can be identified by having 3 to 5 black lines on top of head between the eyes (Fig. 1), although in old specimens the two outer stripes may be faint.1 The dorsum is light brown with a series of dark longitudinal stripes and the dorsal scales are smooth and arranged in 19 rows at mid-body.1 This species differs from C. longinquus by lacking well-defined dark spots on the anterior third of the body.2 From C. fissidens, it differs by having a dark mid-dorsal stripe that becomes tripartite on the nape as well as by having a pale, immaculate belly or with inconspicuous dark punctations (spotted in C. fissidens).1–3
Figure 1: Individuals of Coniophanes dromiciformis from Ecuador: Reserva Las Balsas, Santa Elena province (); Vinces, Los Ríos province ().
Natural history: Coniophanes dromiciformis is a diurnal and terrestrial snake that inhabits xeric ecosystems, including seasonally dry forests, savannas, and shrublands. The species also occurs in areas having a matrix of pastures, plantations, and remnants of native vegetation.4 During sunny hours, these snakes may be seen swiftly moving on leaf-litter, soil, or among grass.4 At night or during cold days, they remain hidden under tree bark, in crevices, in rotten logs, or among the roots of banana trees.4 Nothing is known of the diet in this species, except that one specimen had consumed a toxic frog of the genus Leptodactylus.3 Spotbelly snakes are calm, jittery, and rely mostly on their camouflage and swift movements to avoid predation.4 They have a long, fragile tail that breaks off easily when grabbed by a predator, enabling the escape and survival of the snake.4
Conservation: Near Threatened Not currently at risk of extinction, but requires some level of management to maintain healthy populations.. Coniophanes dromiciformis is proposed to be included in this category, instead of Vulnerable,5 because the species’ extent of occurrence is greater than the 20,000 km2 threshold needed for the VU category. However, its habitat is fragmented, with no less than 75% of it already destroyed.6 Furthermore, snakes of this species suffer from intense traffic-related mortality.7,8 Therefore, C. dromiciformis may qualify for a threatened category in the near future if these threats are not addressed.
Distribution: Coniophanes dromiciformis is endemic to an area of approximately 53,693 km2 along the Tumbesian-Chocoan transition area of western Ecuador (Fig. 2). The species also likely occurs in neighboring Peru.
Figure 2: Distribution of Coniophanes dromiciformis in Ecuador. The star corresponds to the type locality: Guayaquil, Guayas province, Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.
Etymology: The name Coniophanes comes from the Greek konios (=dust) and phanion (=dim),9 and probably refers to the light spots along the belly of some members of the genus. The specific epithet dromiciformis comes from the Greek dromikos (=swift) and the Latin forma (=shape).9
See it in the wild: Swift Spotbelly Snakes may be encountered at rate of about once a week in forested areas throughout its distribution. They are abundant around the city Guayaquil, particularly in the Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco. The snakes may be seen as they cross forest trails during sunny mornings.
Authors: Alejandro ArteagaaAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador. and Sophia HurtadobAffiliation: Universidad ICESI, Cali, Colombia.
Photographers: Jose VieiracAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,dAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador. and Amanda QuezadacAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,aAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
How to cite? Arteaga A, Hurtado S (2024) Swift Spotbelly Snake (Coniophanes dromiciformis). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/HFHF6070
Literature cited:
- Bailey JR (1939) A systematic study of the snakes of the genus Coniophanes. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 24: 1–48.
- Cadle JE (1989) A new species of Coniophanes (Serpentes: Colubridae) from northwestern Peru. Herpetologica 45: 411–424.
- Myers CW (1969) Snakes of the genus Coniophanes in Panamá. American Museum Novitates 2372: 1–28.
- Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
- Cisneros-Heredia DF (2021) Coniophanes dromiciformis. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T176777A50866906.en
- MAE (2012) Línea base de deforestación del Ecuador continental. Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador, Quito, 30 pp.
- Medrano-Vizcaíno P, Brito-Zapata D, Rueda-Vera A, Jarrín-V P, García-Carrasco JM, Medina D, Aguilar J, Acosta-Buenaño N, González-Suárez M (2023) First national assessment of wildlife mortality in Ecuador: an effort from citizens and academia to collect roadkill data at country scale. Ecology and Evolution 13: e9916. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9916
- Gaón Rojas JE, Valdez Cusme GP (2021) Mortalidad de la fauna silvestre por efecto vehicular en la carretera Calceta-Quiroga. BSc thesis, Escuela Superior Politécnica Agropecuaria de Manabí Manuel Feliz López, 127 pp.
- Brown RW (1956) Composition of scientific words. Smithsonian Books, Washington D.C., 882 pp.
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Coniophanes dromiciformis in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used. Asterisk (*) indicates type locality.
| Country | Province | Locality | Source |
| Ecuador | Azuay | Río Mollepungo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Azuay | Sarayunga | Photo by José Manuel Falcón |
| Ecuador | Bolívar | San José del Tambo, 8 km E of | Pazmiño-Otamendi 2020 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Bosque Privado JDLS | Pellet 2017 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | El Limón, 6 km E of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | La Maná | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Recinto San Gerardo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Birón | Loaiza-Lange 2023 |
| Ecuador | El Oro | El Retiro | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Isla San Gregorio | Garzón-Santomaro, et al. 2019; BioWeb |
| Ecuador | El Oro | La Cadena | Pazmiño-Otamendi 2020 |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Las Lajas | Garzón-Santomaro, et al. 2019; BioWeb |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Piñas | Photo by Evelyn Hurtado |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Portovelo | TCWC 24131; VertNet |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Reserva Biológica Buenaventura | Cogălniceanu et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Reserva Ecológica Arenillas | Garzón-Santomaro, et al. 2019; BioWeb |
| Ecuador | El Oro | San Joaquín de Santa Rosa | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Atacames | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Majúa | Reyes-Puig & Peñaherrera-Romero 2022 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Tonsupa | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Balzar | Torres-Carvajal et al. 2019 |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Bosque Protector Cerro Colorado | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Bosques del Batán | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Capeira | Photo by Eduardo Zavala |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Cerros del Yolán | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Chongón | Photo by Gonzalo Pazmiño |
| Ecuador | Guayas | El Aromo | MHNG 2458.018; collection database |
| Ecuador | Guayas | El Mango | Pazmiño-Otamendi 2020 |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Estero Maicito | Vásquez Ávila 2023; Museo de Zoología de la Universidad del Azuay (MZUA); Gbif |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil, Ceibos | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil, Colegio Simon Bolívar | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil, Sinai | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil, Terranostra | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil* | Peters 1863 |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Hacienda San Antonio | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Isidro Ayora | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Isla Santay | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Las Tecas | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Los Samanes | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Milagro | Cadle 1989 |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Milagro, 3 km SE of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Parque Metropolitano de Guayaquil | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Vía al Pan | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Zoo El Pantanal | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Loja | El Tundo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Loja | Nogal, 5 km E of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Loja | Vía Pindal–Paletillas | Torres-Carvajal et al. 2019 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Babahoyo | Myers 1969 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Bosque Protector Pedro Franco Dávila | Cruz & Sánchez 2016 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Hacienda El Señor de los Caballos | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Jabilla | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | La Victoria | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Pacalori | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Quevedo | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Río Chaune | Pazmiño-Otamendi 2020 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Río Macul | Myers 1969 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Vinces | This work; Fig. 1 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | 10 de Agosto, 3 km SW of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Arrastradero, 4 km N of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Boca de Briceno | Loaiza-Lange 2023 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Bosque Seco Lalo Loor | Reptiles of Ecuador book database |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Calceta–Quiroga road | Gaón Rojas & Valdez Cusme 2021 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Flavio Alfaro, 14 km SE of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Gregorio Pita | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | La Habana, 5 km NW of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Los Bartolos | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Los Senderos de Tachila | Photo by Tina Swan |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Maicito | MHNG 1367.082; collection database |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Mate | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Pavón | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Perichico | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Portoviejo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Puerto Caña Chica, 5 km E of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Rancho San Pablo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Rancho Solgar | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Recinto El Topadero | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Reserva Jama Coaque | Lynch et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Río Ayampe | Pazmiño-Otamendi 2020 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | San Lorenzo | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Santa Ana | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Sesme, 3 km W of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Reserva Las Balsas | This work; Fig. 1 |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Simón Bolívar | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Puerto Limón, 8 km SW of | iNaturalist; photo examined |