title: A new Andean species of Philodryas (Dipsadidae, Xenodontinae) from Ecuador.
abstract: We describe a new species of Philodryas from the highlands of southern Ecuador. The new species is distinguished from all known species of Philodryas by a unique combination of coloration, scalation, and hemipenial characters. The new species resembles Philodryas simonsii in color pattern. However, they differ notoriously by their hemipenial morphology. The three other trans-Andean members of the genus (Philodryas simonsii, Philodryas chamissonis, and Philodryas tachymenoides), along with the new species, compose a probably monophyletic group that may be characterized by the presence of ungrooved postdiastemal teeth in the maxilla. Unlike most species of the genus Philodryas, the new species shows a restricted distribution, being apparently endemic to a small region of high-altitude (3150-4450m) grasslands in the southern Andes of Ecuador.
authors.affiliation: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Nazaré 481, CEP. 04263-000, Ipiranga, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Email: hussam.zaher@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hussam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zaher
authors.affiliation: Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Nazaré 481, CEP. 04263-000, Ipiranga, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Arredondo
authors.affiliation: Fundación Herpetológica Gustavo Orcés, Av. Amazonas 3008 y Rumipamba, Quito, Ecuador; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Jorge H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.affiliation: Bioparque Amaru y Zoológico de Cuenca, Autopista Cuenca, Azogues, Km. 10,5, Cuenca, Ecuador; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arbeláez
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 11.46 1, CEP 05422-970, São Paulo, Brazil; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Miguel T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, Universidad Iberoamericana del Ecuador, 9 de Octubre N 25-12 y Av. Colón, Quito-Ecuador; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Altamirano-Benavides
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003710:Demography; D004484:Ecuador; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012911:Snakes / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*