RANGE EXPANSION IN THE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF Xenodon angustirostris PETERS, 1864: A NEW LOCALITY FOR THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN ECOREGION

Abstract

The false mapaná or false Fer-de-Lance snakes of the genus Xenodon are cryptic, opisthoglyphous, oviparous snakes, rare and poorly represented in biological collections. Hence, the breadth of their distribution ranges is not well delimited. Herein, we extend the geographic distribution range of Xenodon angustirostris based on the discovery of a specimen from the western slope of the Serranía del Perijá, department of La Guajira, Colombia. This new record represents the northernmost locality for the species distribution, adds a new ecosystem and habitat to those previously reported, and provide new evidence that fed the discussion about hypothetical biogeographic units stated for the Colombian Caribbean.