Reptiles of Ecuador

Books Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of the Galápagos Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo

Posters

About

Contact

Books Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of the Galápagos Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo Posters About Contact

Donate

DOI10.47051/SNTY2753 Published March 9, 2024. Open access.

Gallery ❯

Mountain Whipsnake (Chironius monticola)

Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Colubridae | Chironius monticola

English common names: Mountain Whipsnake, Andean Whipsnake, Mountain Sipo.

Spanish common names: Serpiente látigo montañera, sipo de montaña (Ecuador); lomo de machete, juetiadora (Colombia).

Recognition: ♂♂ 156.9 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=101.4 cm. ♀♀ 131.1 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=85.9 cm..¹ Chironius monticola differs from other species of Chironius by having the following combination of characters: 12 rows of dorsal scales at mid-body, an entire anal plate, no apical pits, and a unique coloration.^1,2 The dorsal surfaces are uniformly green with a pair of black stripes along the tail (absent in some Ecuadorian specimens; Fig. 1).^1,2 This species differs from C. exoletus by the presence of black stripes on the tail and an entire anal plate.¹ From C. leucometapus, it differs by having 12, instead of 10, dorsal scale rows.³

Figure 1: Individuals of Chironius monticola: Narupa Reserve, Napo province, Ecuador (); Garagoa, Boyacá department, Colombia (); Yanayacu Biological Station, Napo province, Ecuador ().

Natural history: Chironius monticola is a semi-arboreal snake with a diurnal activity pattern. This species usually inhabits cloud forests, but also occurs in seasonally dry montane forest and paramo ecosystems.^1,2 It appears to occur in higher densities in semi-open habitats such as along forest borders, in clearings, pastures with scattered trees, and even around rural areas.^4,5 Mountain Whipsnakes are more active during sunny periods in otherwise cloudy environments.⁴ Most observation are of snakes crossing forest trails, roads, grassy fields, water bodies, or individuals frantically foraging at ground level or on trees.⁴ Curiously, one was submerged 1 m deep in a cold-water river.⁶ At night or during cold weather, these snakes remain coiled on branches up to 4 m above the ground, sometimes near streams,^1,4 or in terrestrial bromeliads.² One individual was spotted in the canopy at 40 m above the ground.⁷ Chironius monticola has one of the most generalist diets in the genus, feeding not only on frogs (the preferred prey item, including Pristimantis w-nigrum,^8,9),¹ but also on birds, rodents, and lizards.^1,10 The Mountain Whipsnake, when disturbed, can exhibit an aggressive behavior which consists of raising the first third of the body while striking repeatedly.^1,4 However, this is an aglyphous snake, meaning it lacks venom-inoculating teeth.¹ There are recorded instances of predation on members of this species, including by eagles and the toucan Andigena laminirostris in Ecuador.⁴ In Colombia, male-male combat was observed. The clutch size in this species consists of 3–8 eggs.²

Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..¹¹ Chironius monticola is listed in this category primarily because the species is widely distributed, occurs in protected areas, and is able to tolerate some degree of habitat disturbance so long as forest remains.¹¹ However, this species can be particularly affected by traffic, being frequently found dead-on-road in Ecuador¹² and Colombia.^13,14 Also, the indiscriminate killing of snakes may be a factor in the decline of some populations of this species.

Distribution: Chironius monticola is widespread throughout the tropical Andes, being found in Venezuela, Colombia, Perú, Bolivia, and Ecuador (Fig. 2). The species is found mainly on the eastern slopes of the Andes, but in Ecuador and Colombia, it also inhabits the western slopes.

Figure 2: Distribution of Chironius monticola in Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.

Etymology: The name Chironius was coined by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826, but likely originated in 1790 with Blasius Merrem, who used the common name “Chiron’s Natter” for Linnaeus’ Coluber carinatus.¹⁵ In Greek mythology, Chiron was a centaur reputed for his healing abilities. Likewise, in ancient Greek civilization, sick people hoping for a cure flocked to temples where sacred snakes were carefully tended and presented to the sufferers. The specific epithet monticola is a Latin word meaning “dweller of the mountains.”¹

See it in the wild: Mountain Whipsnakes, though uncommon throughout the majority of their distribution, are frequently encountered along the valleys of the Río Quijos and upper Río Pastaza, particularly in Reserva Narupa and Reserva La Candelaria. These snakes are most easily spotted on vegetation along water bodies at night or at ground level in semi-open areas during sunny mornings.

Authors: Esteban Garzón-Franco^aAffiliation: Colecciones Biológicas de la Universidad CES (CBUCES), Facultad de Ciencias y Biotecnología, Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia. and Laura Gómez-Mesa,^bAffiliation: Escuela de Ciencias Aplicadas e Ingeniería, Universidad EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia. and Alejandro Arteaga^cAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.

Photographer: Jose Vieira^dAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.^,eAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador.

How to cite? Garzón-Franco E, Gómez-Mesa L, Arteaga A (2024) Mountain Whipsnake (Chironius monticola). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/SNTY2753

Literature cited:

1. Dixon JR, Wiest Jr JA, Cei JM (1993) Revision of the Neotropical snake genus Chironius Fitzinger (Serpentes, Colubridae). Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino, Torino, 280 pp.
2. La Marca E, Soriano PJ (2004) Reptiles de los Andes de Venezuela. Fundación Polar, Mérida, 173 pp.
3. Torres-Carvajal O, Koch C, Valencia JH, Venegas PJ, Echevarría LY (2019) Morphology and distribution of the South American snake Chironius leucometapus (Serpentes: Colubridae). Phyllomedusa 18: 241–254. DOI: 10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v18i2p241-254
4. Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
5. Rojas-Morales JA (2012) Snakes of an urban-rural landscape in the central Andes of Colombia: species composition, distribution, and natural history. Phyllomedusa 11: 135–154.
6. Grajales Echeverry A, de Plecker R, Duarte-Marín S (2022) Chironius monticola (Andean Whip Snake): behavior. Herpetological Review 53: 693.
7. Manzanilla J, Fernández-Badillo A, Visbal R (1996) Fauna del Parque Nacional Henry Pittier, Venezuela: composición y distribución de los reptiles. Acta Científica Venezolana 47: 191–204.
8. Ramírez-Jaramillo SM, Pozo-Zamora GM (2020) Notas del comportamiento predatorio e ingestión de Chironius monticola (Serpentes: Colubridae) en el suroccidente del Ecuador. Neotropical Biodiversity 6: 37–41. DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2020.1730548
9. Photo by Eduardo Obando.
10. Roberto IJ, Souza AR (2020) Review of prey items recorded for snakes of the genus Chironius (Squamata, Colubridae), including the first record of Osteocephalus as prey. Herpetology Notes 13: 1–5.
11. Daza J, Aguayo R, Aparicio J, Gonzales L, Embert D, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Valencia J, Venegas P, Rivas G (2016) Chironius monticola. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T44580132A44580137.en
12. Medrano Vizcaíno PM (2015) Efecto de las carreteras en la mortalidad de vertebrados en un área megadiversa: los Andes Tropicales del Ecuador. MSc thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 50 pp.
13. Esteban Garzón-Franco, field observation.
14. Castillo JC, Urmendez D, Zambrano G (2015) Mortalidad de fauna por atropello vehicular en un sector de la vía Panamericana entre Popayán y Patía. Boletín Científico, Centro de Museos, Museo de Historia Natural 19: 207–219. DOI: 10.17151/bccm.2015.19.2.12
15. Merrem B (1790) Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte. Duisburg um Lemgo, Berlin, 141 pp.

Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Chironius monticola in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used.

Country	Province	Locality	Source
Colombia	Nariño	Mallama	iNaturalist; photo examined
Colombia	Nariño	Piedrancha, 5 km NW of	Dixon et al. 1993
Colombia	Nariño	Reserva Natural La Planada	Santander Oliva et al. 2023
Colombia	Nariño	Ricaurte	iNaturalist; photo examined
Colombia	Putumayo	Vereda El Porotal	iNaturalist; photo examined
Ecuador	Azuay	Molleturo	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Azuay	Río Chipla	Rodríguez-Guerra et al. 2020
Ecuador	Azuay	Zhiumir	Colección AMARU
Ecuador	Cañar	Mazar	MZUA.RE.0045; examined
Ecuador	Carchi	Chilma Bajo	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Carchi	Quinshull	iNaturalist; photo examined
Ecuador	Carchi	Road Maldonado–Tulcán	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Carchi	Sector La Plata	Rodríguez-Guerra et al. 2020
Ecuador	Chimborazo	Pallatanga	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	El Oro	Chilla–Guanazán	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	El Oro	El Birón	Ramírez-Jaramillo & Pozo-Zamora 2020
Ecuador	El Oro	Mirador de Chilla	iNaturalist; photo examined
Ecuador	Imbabura	Above Pimampiro	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Imbabura	Cahuasquí	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Imbabura	La Merced de Buenos Aires	Photo by Jesse Kimmerling
Ecuador	Imbabura	Pucará, 2 km E of	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Loja	Celica, 1 km W of	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Loja	Loja, 5 km E of	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Morona Santiago	El Ideal, 16 km N of	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Morona Santiago	Macas, environs of	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Morona Santiago	Plan de Milagro, 7 km W of	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Morona Santiago	Reserva Biológica El Quimi	Rodríguez-Guerra et al. 2020
Ecuador	Morona Santiago	Reserva Tinajillas	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Napo	Baeza	AMNH 110583; examined
Ecuador	Napo	Baeza, 5 km S of	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Napo	Borja	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Napo	Cuyuja–Cocodrilo	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Napo	El Chaco	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Napo	Narupa Reserve	This work; Fig. 1
Ecuador	Napo	Río Azuela	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Napo	Río Jondachi	iNaturalist; photo examined
Ecuador	Napo	San Rafael	MHNG 2412.037; collection database
Ecuador	Napo	Santa Rosa, 5 km NNE of	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Napo	Sumaco Camp Mirador	MZUTI 5553; examined
Ecuador	Napo	Wildsumaco Wildlife Sanctuary	Camper et al. 2021
Ecuador	Napo	Yanayacu Biological Station	This work; Fig. 1
Ecuador	Pastaza	Abitagua	CAS 8264; VertNet
Ecuador	Pastaza	Mera, environs of	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Sucumbíos	El Reventador	Photo by Diego Piñán
Ecuador	Sucumbíos	La Bonita	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2019
Ecuador	Sucumbíos	La Playa	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Tungurahua	Baños de Agua Santa	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Tungurahua	Below El Triunfo	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Tungurahua	El Topo	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Tungurahua	Puntzan	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Tungurahua	Reserva La Candelaria	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Tungurahua	Río Verde	Ernesto Arbeláez, pers. comm.
Ecuador	Tungurahua	San Francisco de Mapoto	Dixon et al. 1993
Ecuador	Tungurahua	San Pablo, vía a El Triunfo	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Estación San Francisco	MZUA.RE.0160; examined
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Nangaritza	Reptiles of Ecuador book database
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Reserva Biológica Cerro Plateado	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Reserva Forestal El Zarza	iNaturalist; photo examined
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	San Ramón	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Tres Aguas	Photo by Diana Encalada
Ecuador	Zamora Chinchipe	Zumba, 24 km W of	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Peru	Amazonas	Anexo San Pedro	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Peru	Amazonas	Base of Cerro Machinaza	USNM 525555; VertNet
Peru	Amazonas	Campamento Ingenio	Dixon et al. 1993
Peru	Amazonas	Catara Gocta	iNaturalist; photo examined
Peru	Amazonas	Distrito Vista Alegre	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Peru	Amazonas	Leimebamba, 14 km NNE of	Dixon et al. 1993
Peru	Amazonas	Owlet Lodge	iNaturalist; photo examined
Peru	Loreto	Yanagaen	Dixon et al. 1993
Peru	Piura	Huancabamba	Dixon et al. 1993
Peru	Piura	Peña Rica	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018
Peru	San Martín	Front range between Moyobamba and Río Marañón	Dixon et al. 1993
Peru	San Martín	Road Laurel–Los Chichos	Torres-Carvajal et al. 2018

© 2024 Reptiles of Ecuador. All rights reserved.