Resumen:
The amerophidian snake radiation is a Late Cretaceous superfamily that encompasses two
families: Aniliidae, pipe snakes, and Tropidophiidae, dwarf boas. We describe a new dwarf boa snake
species, from the Tropidophiidae family, from the cloud forest in northeastern Ecuador. Tropidophis
cacuangoae sp. nov. can be diagnosed from its congeners based on external and osteological morphology.
The new species inhabits eastern tropical piedmont and lower evergreen montane forests, in the Amazon
Tropical Rainforest biome, and is likely to be an Ecuadorian endemic. We also discuss the relationships
of the new species with South American tropidophiids and provide a key to the identification of mainland
South American dwarf boas.
