Juan Pablo Hurtado Gómez

Senckenberg Research Institute · Museum of Zoology Dresden

Bothrocophias microphthalmus (Cope, 1875) currently comprises most mid-to highland populations of the genus Bothrocophias in the eastern versant of the Andes. We describe two new species of Bothrocophias from the highlands of the Colombian Andes previously referred to as B. microphthalmus based on morphological and genetic evidence. Our phylogeneti...

The area is located along a 79.9 km highway and its surroundings, on the eastern plains of Colombia, between the cities of Villavicencio and Puerto López, in Meta department, within an altitudinal range from 192 to 400 meters above sea level. The sampled area has a heterogeneous landscape, including four main vegetation covers: pastures, gallery fo...

The New World genus Micrurus contains more than 80 currently recognized species of venomous coral snakes. The taxonomy of the South American M. lemniscatus complex is controversial. Within this group, M. lemniscatus, M. carvalhoi, M. diutius, M. frontifasciatus, and M. helleri have been treated either as distinct species or subspecies of M. lemnisc...

Coral snakes of the genus Micrurus have been recorded as prey of rapacious birds, some mammals and other snakes, but so far not as prey of fishes. The black spotted piranha, Pygocentrus cariba, is an opportunistic predator that feeds mainly on fishes, occasionally on other vertebrates, but has so far not been reported to prey on snakes. Herein, bas...

Coral snakes of the genus Micrurus have a high diversity and a wide distribution in the Americas. Despite envenomings by these animals are uncommon, accidents are often severe and may result in death. Producing an antivenom to treat these envenomings has been challenging since coral snakes are difficult to catch, produce small amounts of venom, and...

On the basis of morphological and molecular evidence, we describe a new species of lizard of the genus Pholidobolus, previously conflated with P. vertebralis, from a paramo ecosystem in the northern Cordillera Central of Colombia. Our results support the recognition of the new species and suggest it is not closely related to P. vertebralis. Morphol...

The northern Andes are a geographically, climatically, and ecologically complex area that harbors a high number of species and presents a high level of endemism. However, the landscape of this region has been highly transformed by human activities, including agriculture, cattle grazing, urbanization, and recently, the construction of large infrastr...

We report for the first time the occurrence of Tantilla supracincta in Colombia based on a road killed specimen found in the Pacific foothills of the Andes in the department of Antioquia, filling a gap of approximately 870 km in its distribution and extending by 473 m its altitudinal range.

We describe a new species of Anolis from the Magdalena river valley in Colombia. The new species is morphologically similar to Anolis ibanezi and A. chocorum, but differs in body and dewlap color, and head scalation. We performed an exploratory multivariate analysis based on 15 morphological characteristics of the new species and A chocorum and fou...