Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

Saphenophis tristriatus and Saphenophis sneiderni are poorly known snake species endemic to the Northern Andes of Colombia. Based on a recently collected specimen and photographs, we present new records for both species in the Central and Occidental (Western) cordilleras of Colombia along an elevational range between 1,700 to 2,940 m a.s.l. We also discuss the representativeness of snake endemism in the Cauca River basin (63,300 km², 4.1% of the Northern Andes) using 0.5° x 0.5° grid cells. The record of S. tristriatus and S. sneiderni, plus additional photograph-based records, extends the known distribution approximately 200 km north from the previous known localities in southwestern Colombia. The review of additional snake species gathered 20 species which are endemic to this basin. A highly endemic snake concentration occurs at the middle Cauca River valley, where nine species are found in two grids. The fact that the Cauca River basin has such a high level of snake endemism’s compared to other areas worldwide is highly significant in biogeographical terms, particularly for disentangling the Central America and Northern South America snakes phylogeography.