Geophis

Geophis
Geophis nigroalbus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Dipsadinae
Genus:	Geophis Wagler, 1830

Geophis is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae of the superfamily Colubroidea. Species in the genus Geophis are commonly referred to as Latin American earth snakes (Spanish: culebra minera or culebra minadora). The genus consists of 53 distinct species.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.

• Geophis annuliferus Boulenger, 1894 – western snail-eating snake
• Geophis anocularis Dunn, 1920 – Sierra Mije earth snake
• Geophis bellus Myers, 2003
• Geophis berillus Barragán-Reséndiz, Pavón-Vázquez, Cervantes-Burgos, Trujano-Ortego, Canseco-Márquez & García-Vázquez, 2022
• Geophis betaniensis J.H. Restrepo & J.W. Wright, 1987 – Betanien earth snake
• Geophis bicolor Günther, 1868 – Mexican plateau earth snake
• Geophis blanchardi Taylor & H.M. Smith, 1939 – Blanchard's earth snake
• Geophis brachycephalus (Cope, 1871) – Costa Rican earth snake
• Geophis cancellatus H.M. Smith, 1941 – Chiapas earth snake
• Geophis cansecoi C. Grünwald, Ahumada-Carrillo, A. Grünwald, Montaño-Ruvalcaba & García-Vázquez, 2021
• Geophis carinosus L.C. Stuart, 1941 – keeled earth snake
• Geophis chalybeus (Wagler, 1830) – Veracruz earth snake
• Geophis championi Boulenger, 1894 – Panamenian earth snake
• Geophis damiani Wilson, McCranie & K.L. Williams, 1998
• Geophis downsi Savage, 1981 – Down's earth snake, Savage's earth snake
• Geophis dubius (W. Peters, 1861) – Mesa del Sur earth snake
• Geophis duellmani H.M. Smith & Holland, 1969 – Sierra Juarez earth snake
• Geophis dugesii Bocourt, 1883 – Dugès's earth snake
• Geophis dunni K.P. Schmidt, 1932 – Dunn's earth snake
• Geophis fulvoguttatus Mertens, 1952 – Mertens's earth snake
• Geophis godmani Boulenger, 1894 – Godman's earth snake
• Geophis hoffmanni (W. Peters, 1859) – Hoffmann's earth snake
• Geophis immaculatus Downs, 1967 – Downs's earth snake
• Geophis incomptus Duellman, 1959 – Sierra Coalcoman earth snake'
• Geophis isthmicus (Boulenger, 1894) – isthmian earth snake
• Geophis juarezi Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2003 – Benito Juarez's earth snake
• Geophis juliai Pérez-Higareda, H.M. Smith & López-Luna, 2001 – Zurtuche's earth snake
• Geophis laticinctus H.M. Smith & K.L. Williams, 1963 – Mesa Central earth snake
• Geophis laticollaris H.M. Smith, Lynch & Altig, 1965 – widecollar earth snake
• Geophis latifrontalis Garman, 1883 – Potosí earth snake
• Geophis lorancai Canseco-Márquez, Pavón-Vázquez, López-Luna & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2016
• Geophis maculiferus Taylor, 1941 – Michoacán earth snake
• Geophis mutitorques (Cope, 1885) – highland earth snake
• Geophis nasalis (Cope, 1868) – coffee earth snake
• Geophis nephodrymus Townsend & Wilson, 2006
• Geophis nigroalbus Boulenger, 1908 – Colombian earth snake
• Geophis nigrocinctus Duellman, 1959 – black-banded earth snake
• Geophis occabus Pavón-Vázquez, García-Vázquez, Blancas-Hernández & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2011
• Geophis omiltemanus Günther, 1893 – Guerreran earth snake
• Geophis petersii Boulenger, 1894 – Peters's earth snake
• Geophis pyburni Campbell & Murphy, 1977 – Pyburn's earth snake
• Geophis rhodogaster (Cope, 1868) – rosebelly earth snake
• Geophis rostralis (Jan, 1865) –Sierra Madre earth snake
• Geophis ruthveni F. Werner, 1925 – Ruthven's earth snake
• Geophis sallaei Boulenger, 1894 – Sallae's earth snake
• Geophis sanniolus Cope, 1863 – pygmy snail sucker
• Geophis sartorii Cope, 1863 – terrestrial snail sucker
• Geophis semidoliatus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – coral earth snake
• Geophis sieboldi (Jan, 1862) – Siebold's earth snake
• Geophis talamancae Lips & Savage, 1994
• Geophis tarascae Hartweg, 1959 – Tarascan earth snake
• Geophis tectus Savage & J.I. Watling, 2008
• Geophis turbidus Pavón-Vázquez, Canseco-Márquez & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2013
• Geophis zeledoni Taylor, 1954

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Geophis.

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. (Genus Geophis, pp. 314–315).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Genus Geophis, pp. 69, 70, 98).
• Wagler J (1830). Natürliches system der Amphibien, mit vorangehender Classification der Säugthiere und Vögel. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Geophis, new genus, p. 342). (in German and Latin).
• Wilson JD, Townsend JH (2007). "A checklist and key to the snakes of the genus Geophis (Squamata: Colubridae: Dipsadinae), with commentary on distribution and conservation". Zootaxa 1395: 1–31.