Synophis insulomontanus

Synophis insulomontanus, known commonly as the mountain fishing snake or the mountain shadow snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to northwestern South America.

Synophis insulomontanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Synophis
Species:	S. insulomontanus
Binomial name
Synophis insulomontanus Torres-Carvajal, Echevarría, Venegas, Chávez & Camper, 2015

Geographic range

S. insulomontanus is found in Huánuco Region, Peru.[1]

Habitat

The preferred habitat of S. insulomontanus is forests on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in northern and central Peru at elevations of approximately 1,100–1,800 m (3,600–5,900 ft).[2]

Behavior

A nocturnal, terrestrial, and semiarboreal species, S. insulomontanus has been found foraging on the forest floor in leaf litter, and coiled in bromeliads 1 m (3.3 ft) above the ground.[2]

Diet

The diet of S. insulomontanus is unknown. Despite the allusion to fishing in one of its common names, there is no evidence that the species eats fish.[3]

References

1. Species Synophis insulomontanus at The Reptile Database
2. Torres-Carvajal et al. (2015).
3. Pyron, R. Alexander; Arteaga, Alejandro; Echevarría, Lourdes Y.; Torres-Carvajal, Omar (2016). "A revision and key for the tribe Diaphorolepidini (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) and checklist for the genus Synophis ". Zootaxa 4171 (2): 293-320.

Further reading

• Torres-Carvajal, Omar; Echevarría, Lourdes; Venegas, Pablo Javier; Chávez, Germán; Camper, Jeffrey (2015). "Description and phylogeny of three new species of Synophis (Colubridae, Dipsadinae) from the tropical Andes in Ecuador and Peru". ZooKeys 546: 153–179. (Synophis insulomontanus, new species). (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).