Taxonomic revision of the tribe Dipsadini and evaluation of available information in GBIF

• Grant number: 15/09054-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 15, 2015
• End date: March 21, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Hussam El Dine Zaher
• Grantee: Paola María Sánchez Martínez
• Supervisor: Roy W. McDiarmid
• Host Institution: Museu de Zoologia (MZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/11997-3 - Taxonomic revision of the tribe Dipsadini (Serpentes: Dipsadidae: Dipsadinae), BP.DR

Abstract

The main objective of my ongoing Doctoral project corresponds to a thorough taxonomic revision of the Neotropical snail-eating snakes of the tribe Dipsadini, which includes 66 recognized species belonging to five genera (Dipsas, Plesiodipsas, Sibon, Sibynomorphus e Tropidodipsas) distributed throuhought Central and South America. The revision is based on an analysis of the geographic variation present in all recognized species and their synonyms through the study pholidosis, biometry, color patterns and cranial and hemipenial morphology. The present internship proposal has two main objectives: firstly, to allow data gathering at seven large North American museums of natural history in order to obtain data to fulfill the needs for the conclusion of the taxonomic revision of the tribe; secondly to evaluate the taxonomic information provided by "The Global Biodiversity Information Facility" (GBIF) for this tribe. Results from these two objectives are expected to generate crucial information for the conclusion of the taxonomic revision of this highly speciose tribe of Neotropical snakes. (AU)