The eye of Tomodon dorsatus has a round pupil. The lining of the mouth is black. The last maxillary tooth is enlarged and grooved. There are seven upper labials. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows on the neck and at midbody, and reduced to 15 rows anterior to the cloaca. [2]
Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthogylyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Tomodon dorsatus, corrected gender of specific name, p. 121).
Duméril, [A.M.C.] (1853). "Prodrome de la classification des reptiles ophidiens". Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences de l'Institut de France. 23: 399–536. (Tomodon, new genus, p. 495). (in French).
Duméril, A.-M.-C.; Bibron, G.; Duméril, A.[-H.-A.] (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième — Deuxième partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris: Roret. xii + pp. 781–1536. (Tomodon dorsatum, new species, pp. 934–936). (in French).
Freiberg, M. (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. ISBN0-87666-912-7. 189 pp. (Tomodon dorsatus, p. 112).