Xenodon severus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Llanqui, Irbin B., Y. Salas, Cinthya & Oblitas, Melissa P., 2019, A preliminary checklist of amphibians and reptiles from the vicinity of La Nube Biological Station, Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, Peru, Check List 15 (5), pp. 773-796 : 788

Xenodon severus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Figure 7A, B

Material examined. MUSA 4100; (13°24′31″S, 069°35′ 50″W), 22.IX.2013.

Identification. A mid-sized robust snake, SVL: 807–946 mm in males and 1000–1060 mm in females. It has 21 rows of smooth scales around mid-body; undivided anal plate; fewer than 42 divided subcaudals. Dorsum varies from brown, green to black with a highly variable pattern; commonly with black transversal bands in juveniles and uniform coloration in adults. Venter tan orange. Head and body are distinctively depressed, especially in the neck region as a defense behavior. Similar species in adjacent localities are: X. rabdocephalus , which has 19 scales around mid-body, Helicops angulatus , which has keeled dorsal scales ( Roze 1966, Duellman 1978, 2005, Pérez-Santos and Moreno 1988).

Distribution. Xenodon severus is widely distributed in Amazonia in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela up to 2000 m a.s.l. (Wallach et al. 2014, Uetz and Hošek 2019).

Remarks. The collected sample is a juvenile individual.