Helicops gomesi, also known commonly as the São Paulo keelback and cobra d'água in Brazilian Portuguese, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Brazil.
Etymology
The specific name, gomesi, is in honor of Brazilian herpetologist .
Geographic range
H. gomesi is found in the Brazilian states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, and São Paulo.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of H. gomesi are forest and savanna.
Description
H. gomesi may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . Both dorsally and ventrally, it is brown, with some darker markings. Its dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows throughout the length of its body.
Diet
H. gomesi preys upon fishes and amphibians.
Reproduction
H. gomes is oviparous. Clutch size is 7âÂÂ22 eggs.
References
Further reading
- Amaral A (1922). "Contribuição para o conhecimento dos Ofidios do Brazil. Parte I. Quatro noves espécies de serpentes brasileiras [= Contribution to the knowledge of the Ophidians of Brazil. Part I. Four new species of Brazilian serpents]". Anexos das Memórias do Instituto Butantan, Secção de Ofiologia 1 (1): 1âÂÂ37. (Helicops gomesi, new species. p. 7). (in Portuguese).
- (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Helicops gomesi, p. 99).
- , , , , , (2011). "Répteis do Estado de São Paulo: conhecimento atual e perspectivas [= Reptiles from São Paulo State: current knowledge and perspectives]". Biota Neotropica 11 (1): 1âÂÂ15. (in Portuguese, with an abstract in English).