NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Downs' Earth Snake
Geophis immaculatus Downs, 1967
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Geophis immaculatus, Downs's earth snake, is a small snake of the colubrid family. It is native to Mexico and Guatemala. There are no recognized subspecies. Although not much has been documented about it, the population distribution is in abundance and is of least concern in terms of conservation status.
G. immaculatus is most closely related to the Geophis fulvoguttatus, a snake found exclusively in the Metapan mountains of El Salvador. The Geophis fulvoguttatus is characterised by more ventral scales and lateral reddish spots, which the G. immaculatus lacks. The two species are part of a group known as Geophis Dubius that includes 11 other snake species of Central America, as categorised by Floyd Leslie Downs.
Wikipedia contributors, Geophis immaculatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:14:07.027824+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Geophis immaculatus Downs, 1967
- Name authority
- Downs, 1967
- Common name
- Downs' Earth Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Geophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyDipsadinae
- genusGeophis
- speciesGeophis immaculatus Downs, 1967
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Geophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Geophis bellus Myers, 2003 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Costa Rican Earth SnakeGeophis brachycephalus (Cope, 1871) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chiapas Earth SnakeGeophis cancellatus Smith, 1941 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Geophis damiani Wilson, Mccranie & Williams, 1998 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunn's Earth SnakeGeophis dunni Schmidt, 1932 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Godman's Earth SnakeGeophis godmani Boulenger, 1894 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hoffmann's Earth SnakeGeophis hoffmanni (Peters, 1859) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sierra Coalcoman Earth SnakeGeophis incomptus Duellman, 1959 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Isthmian Earth SnakeGeophis isthmicus (Boulenger, 1894) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benito Juarez's Earth SnakeGeophis juarezi Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2003 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Zurtuche's Earth SnakeGeophis juliai Pérez-Higareda, Smith & López-Luna, 2001 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mesa Central Earth SnakeGeophis laticinctus Smith & Williams, 1963 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Geophis&species=immaculatus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6KBQH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.