Xenodon merremii

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Dipsadidae
Subfamilia: Xenodontinae
Genus: Xenodon
Species: Xenodon merremii
Name

Xenodon merremii (Wagler, 1824)

Syntypes: ZSM uncatalogued specimens, collected by Spix and Martius expedition to Brazil, between 1817–1820. [lost fide Hoogmoed & Gruber (1983: 334)]

Type locality: “Habitat ad urbem Bahiae”.
Combinations

Ophis merremii Wagler, 1824: 47 [original combination]
Xenodon merremii — Fitzinger, 1826: 900 [subsequent combination]
Waglerophis merremii — Romano & Hoge, 1973: 209 [subsequent combination]

References
Primary references

Wagler, J. 1824. Serpentum brasiliensium species novae ou Histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens, recueillies et observées pendant le voyage dans l’intérieur du Brésil dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, exécuté par ordre de Sa Majesté le Roi de Bavière, publiée par Jean de Spix,...décrite d’après les notes du voyageur par Jean Wagler. Typis Franc. Seraph. Hübschmanni: Munich. vii + 75 pp. BHL Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Xenodon merremii. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 19 October 2018.

Vernacular names
English: Wagler's Snake

Xenodon merremii, also known commonly as Wagler's snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to South America and is widespread in the eastern half of the continent.

Geographic range

X. merremii occurs in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina.[1]
Etymology

The specific name, merremii, is in honor of German herpetologist Blasius Merrem.[2]
Description

Adults of X. merremii are usually 1 m (39 in) or less in total length (including tail).[3] Its color pattern is very variable.[1] Some "red phase" specimens are a uniform reddish tan.[3] Other specimens are pale brown dorsally, with broad dark-brown crossbands, which are edged with black, and are narrower or interrupted in the middle.[4] The latter color pattern resembles that of the venomous snake Bothrops alternatus.[3]
Diet

X. merremii preys on insects, frogs, toads, lizards, and sometimes snakes. Like other rear-fanged toad-eaters of the genera Heterodon and Lystrophis, X. merremii uses its enlarged posterior maxillary teeth to puncture and deflate toads which have defensively puffed themselves up, thereby making them easier to swallow.[3]
Defensive behavior

When threatened, X. merremii raises the anterior part of its body, inflating and spreading its neck, similar to a cobra.[3]
Reproduction

X. merremii is oviparous.[1]
References

Species Xenodon merremii at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Waglerophis merremi, p. 176).
Freiberg M (1982).

Boulenger GA (1894).

Further reading

Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. (Xenodon merremii, pp. 150–151).
Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Waglerophis merremii, pp. 113, 144 + photographs on pp. 21, 159, 162).
Wagler J (1824). In: Spix J (1824). Serpentum Brasiliensum species novae ou histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens, recueillies et observées pendant le voyage dans l'intérieur du Brésil dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, exécuté par ordre de sa Majesté le Roi de Baviére. Munich: F.S. Hübschmann. viii + 75 pp. + Plates I-XXVI. (Ophis merremii, new species, p. 47 + Plate XVII). (in Latin).
Wallach V, Williams KL, Boundy J (2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. xxviii + 1,209 pp. ISBN 978-1-4822-0847-4. (Xenodon merremii, p. 785).