NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Blunthead Tree Snake
Imantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus, 1758)
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
Imantodes cenchoa, also known commonly as the blunthead tree snake, the neotropical blunt-headed tree snake, and the fiddle-string snake, is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Wikipedia contributors, Imantodes cenchoa; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:55:43.108062+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Imantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Blunthead Tree Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Imantodes
- 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
- genusImantodes
- speciesImantodes cenchoa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Imantodes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Western Tree SnakeImantodes inornatus (Boulenger, 1896) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amazon Basin Tree SnakeImantodes lentiferus (Cope, 1894) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yucatán Blunthead SnakeImantodes tenuissimus (Cope, 1867) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chocoan blunt-headed vine snakesImantodes chocoensis Torres-Carvajal, Yánez-Muñoz, Quirola, Smith & Almendáriz, 2012 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Central American Tree SnakeImantodes gemmistratus (Cope, 1861) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Imantodes guane Missassi & Prudente, 2015 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Phantasma Tree SnakeImantodes phantasma Myers, 1982 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dipsas weigelii Fitzinger, 1826 Fitzinger, 1826 | synonym |
| Dipsas cenchoa rhombeata Müller, 1882 Müller, 1882 | synonym |
| Bungarus cencoalt Oppel, 1811 Oppel, 1811 | synonym |
| Himantodes anisolepis Cope, 1894 Cope, 1894 | synonym |
| Himantodes hemigenius Cope, 1899 Cope, 1899 | ambiguous synonym |
| Himantodes platycephalus Cope, 1899 Cope, 1899 | synonym |
| Himantodes semifasciatus Cope, 1894 Cope, 1894 | synonym |
| Coluber cenchoa Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Dipsas cenchoa reticulata Müller, 1882 Müller, 1882 | ambiguous synonym |
| Himantodes leucomelas Cope, 1861 Cope, 1861 | synonym |
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=Imantodes&species=cenchoa 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:6MV26. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.