Published March 28, 2024. Open access. | Purchase book ❯ |
Humpback Shadow-Snake (Diaphorolepis wagneri)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Diaphorolepis wagneri
English common names: Humpback Shadow-Snake, Ecuador Frog-eating Snake.
Spanish common name: Culebra sombría jorobada.
Recognition: ♂♂ 70.4 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=44.7 cm. ♀♀ 78.3 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=52.4 cm..1 A single feature sets Diaphorolepis wagneri apart from the other snakes in Ecuador. It has enlarged, doubly-keeled scales on the vertebral row. It also has fused prefrontal scales, a uniformly blackish dorsum (Fig. 1), and a pale-goldenrod belly.1–3 Juveniles have an incomplete pale nuchal collar that becomes fainter with age. This species differs from the other shadow snakes (genus Synophis) by having an expanded vertebral scale row with weak to strong double keeling (vertebral row with a single keel and barely expanded or not at all in the other species).1–3
Figure 1: Individuals of Diaphorolepis wagneri from Ecuador: Milpe Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province (); Río Manduriacu Reserve, Imbabura province (). sa=subadult; j=juvenile.
Natural history: Diaphorolepis wagneri is a rarely seen nocturnal and semi-arboreal snake that inhabits well-preserved evergreen forests in mountainous areas.2 Humpback Shadow-Snakes occur at ground level or on low (less than 200 cm off the ground) vegetation, usually within a few meters from streams and rivers.2,4 They appear to be more active during rainy or drizzly nights.2 During the day, individuals of D. wagneri have been found hidden in leaf-litter, under logs, or coiled within trunks.2,5 When grabbed, the Shadow Snake never attempts to bite and is rather inclined to head-hiding and tail-pricking.2 Nothing is known about the diet of this harmless snake, but a close living relative feeds on small lizards.2 One female of D. wagneri from Ecuador laid a clutch of three eggs.4
Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..6 Diaphorolepis wagneri is listed in this category primarily because the species is widely distributed, its habitat is not severely fragmented, and its populations are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for a more threatened category.7 The most important threat for the long-term survival of this strictly forest-dwelling snake is the loss of habitat due to large-scale deforestation.
Distribution: Diaphorolepis wagneri is widely distributed along the Chocoan foothills of the Andes in Ecuador (Fig. 2) and Colombia.
Figure 2: Distribution of Diaphorolepis wagneri in Ecuador. The star corresponds to the type locality: Milpe, Pichincha province, Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.
Etymology: The name Diaphorolepis is derived from the Greek diaphoros (=differentiated) and lepis (=scales), likely referring to the enlarged vertebral scale row as compared to the rest of the dorsal scales.1 The specific epithet wagneri honors German explorer Moritz Wagner (1813–1887), who collected the holotype.1
See it in the wild: In Ecuador, the majority of records of Diaphorolepis wagneri come from the Mindo–Milpe area, where the species is spotted at a rate of about once every few months. These snakes are most easily found by walking along forest trails near rivers during rainy nights.
Author: Alejandro ArteagaaAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
Photographer: Jose VieirabAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,cAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador.
How to cite? Arteaga A (2024) Humpback Shadow-Snake (Diaphorolepis wagneri). 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/JXXF4716
Literature cited:
- Pyron RA, Guayasamin JM, Peñafiel N, Bustamante L, Arteaga A (2015) Systematics of Nothopsini (Serpentes, Dipsadidae), with a new species of Synophis from the Pacific Andean slopes of southwestern Ecuador. ZooKeys 541: 109–147. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.541.6058
- Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Guayasamin JM (2013) The amphibians and reptiles of Mindo. Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, 257 pp.
- Bogert CM (1964) Snakes of the genera Diaphorolepis and Synophis and the colubrid subfamily Xenoderminae. Senckenbergiana Biologica 45: 509–531.
- Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
- Jeff Streicher, pers. comm. to AA.
- Ibáñez R, Jaramillo C, Velasco J, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Bolívar W (2017) Diaphorolepis wagneri. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T203499A2766344.en
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Diaphorolepis wagneri 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 |
| Colombia | Cauca | Parque Nacional Munchique | Vera-Pérez et al. 2018 |
| Colombia | Chocó | Reserva Natural Comunitaria Cerro El Inglés | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Colombia | Chocó | San José de Palmar, 18 km E of | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Colombia | Nariño | Reserva La Planada | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Colombia | Nariño | Reserva Natural El Pangán | Photo by Carlos Luna |
| Colombia | Valle del Cauca | Dapa | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Colombia | Valle del Cauca | Pance | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Colombia | Valle del Cauca | Pichinde | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Colombia | Valle del Cauca | Represa Murrapal | Photo by Santiago Orozco |
| Colombia | Valle del Cauca | Río Calima | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Tobar Donoso | Torres-Carvajal et al. 2012 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Las Damas | MHNG 2459.005; collection database |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Las Pampas | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Recinto Galápagos | MHNG 2441.095; collection database |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Vía Pucayacu–Sigchos | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Canandé Biological Reserve | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Cielo Verde, 5 km N of | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Lita | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Manduriacu Reserve | Lynch et al. 2014 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Palmar | Bogert 1964 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Agrofinquita | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Cascadas de Mindo | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Mashpi Reserve | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Milpe* | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Reserva Un Poco del Chocó | iNaturalist; photo examined |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Séptimo Paraíso | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Tandapi | Pyron et al. 2015 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Yellow House | Arteaga et al. 2013 |