Geophis brachycephalus (Cope)

Wilson, Larry David & Townsend, Josiah H., 2007, A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation, Zootaxa 1395, pp. 1-31 : 6-7

6. Geophis brachycephalus (Cope)

Colobognathus brachycephalus Cope 1871: 211 . Colobognathus dolichocephalus: Cope 1871: 211 . Geophis moestus: Günther 1872: 15 .

Catastoma chalybaeum: Günther 1872: 16 .

Catostoma brachycephalum: Cope 1876: 147 . Catostoma dolichocephalum: Cope 1876: 147 . E (lapoidis) dolichocephalus: Cope 1885: 386 . E (lapoidis) brachycephalus: Cope 1885: 386 . Rhabdosoma moestum: Cope 1887: 85 .

Geophis chalybaea quadrangularis: Günther 1893: 87 . Geophis dolichocephalus: Günther 1893: 87 . Geophis moesta: Günther 1893: 90 .

Dirosema brachycephalum: Boulenger 1894: 299 . Geophis hoffmanni: Boulenger 1894: 319 .

Catostoma brachycephalum: Amaral 1929: 191 . Geophis brachycephalus: Dunn 1942: 4 .

Geophis dolichocephala: Taylor 1951: 43 .

Geophis brachycephala: Taylor 1951: 46 .

Geophis bakeri: Taylor 1954: 689 .

Holotype. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ( ANSP) 3337, juvenile male collected by Van Patten.

Type­locality. Costa Rica.

Distribution. Known from the Cordillera Central, Cordillera de Talamanca, as well as the northeastern Caribbean and southwestern Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica, and western Panama east to the Piedras­Pacora Ridge in central Panama, 13­2115 m elevation.

Species group. sieboldi ( Downs 1967) .

Systematic references. Cope (1871, 1876, 1885), Günther (1872, 1893), Boulenger (1894), Taylor (1951, 1954), Downs (1967), Myers (2003).

Remarks. The specific name dolichocephalus actually has priority over brachycephalus in Cope’s (1871) original description. Dunn (1942) selected brachycephalus as the species name without comment, a decision accepted by Downs (1967:152), based at least in part on inaccuracies in Cope’s (1871) description of dolichocephalus . The high degree of color pattern and scale variation in this species has, at least in part, contributed to the confused taxonomic history of this species. Myers (2003) clarified the distribution of G.

brachycephalus in Panama and reported on a series listed as “ Geophis , species inquirenda [ G. brachycephalus , auctorum],” that may represent a separate, undescribed taxon.