SAN FELIPE GROUND SNAKE
Conopsis megalodon – Taylor & Smith 1942
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
Conopsis megalodon is found only in the highlands of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as the mountains surrounding Ciudad Oaxaca and Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s elevational distribution is between 1730 and 3200 m.
HABITAT:
This species is found in and at the edges of clearings, meadows, and grazed hillsides within pine, oak, pine-oak and deciduous forests. It is most commonly encountered beneath rocks, logs, and trash.
NATURAL HISTORY:
Like other members of the Genus Conopsis, this fossorial snake is probably a common inhabitant throughout it’s geographic range. It is probably diurnal, and seasonally nocturnal but is rarely found abroad during daylight hours. Prey items are likely invertebrates and lizards (particularly the Genus Eumeces). Small frogs (such as Eleutherodactylus) and young rodents may also be consumed. C. amphisticha appears to be most active during the summer rainy season (June-September).This species is Ovoviviparous, and probably gives birth to a small litter during the summer rainy season (July/August).
TAXONOMY:
Goyenechea & Flores-Villela (2006) synonomized the Genus Toluca with Conopsis. Synonomies include Toluca conica.
TYPE:
Described as Toluca megalodon by Taylor & Smith (1942). Holotype: EHT-HMS 23640. Type-locality: Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico.
PERSONAL NOTES:
CONSERVATION STATUS:
This species is probably in no danger of local or wide-spread population decline; it is adaptable and may be found thriving in human-altered habitats.
REFERENCES:
Goyenechea, I., and Flores-Villela, O. (2006) Taxonomic summary of Conopsis, Gunther, 1858 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa 1271:1-27.
Taylor, E. H., and Smith, H. M. (1942) The snake genera Conopsis and Toluca. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 28(15):325-363.