Scorpion Racer

Philodryas agassizii (Jan, 1863)

This species is known from very few reported specimens in Paraguay, one with no specific locality data (MNHNP 9534), and two with localities reported by Ríos et al. (2020): 1) 12 km W San Ignacio Guazú on Ruta IV, Misiones department (CZPLT-H 1544); 2) 3.5 km W Ybycuí, Paraguarí department (CZPLT-H 1353). Additionally, an individual was photographed at 4 km E of Laguna Capitán, Presidente Hayes department (Smith and Clay, 2015). Here we report a fourth Paraguayan specimen (Fig. 27) collected at Quiíndy, Paraguarí department (26°00’30.8’’S 57°14’24.3’’W) on 23 January 2024 by JM and which will be deposited in the MNHNP shortly. Identification was confirmed on examination of the specimen by colour pattern and the presence of 13 mid-dorsal scale rows (Cacciali 2024). This is a minor range extension of 17.23 km. The species is considered to be “Data Deficient” in Paraguay (Martínez et al., 2020c).