Tantilla wilcoxi
| Tantilla wilcoxi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Tantilla |
| Species: | T. wilcoxi
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| Binomial name | |
| Tantilla wilcoxi Stejneger, 1902
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| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Tantilla wilcoxi, also known commonly as the Chihuahuan blackhead snake and la centipedívora de Chihuahua in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is Native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.[2]
Etymology
[edit]The specific name, wilcoxi, is in honor of United States Army surgeon Timothy Erastus Wilcox (1840–1932), who collected the holotype.[3]: 285
Common names
[edit]Additional common names for Tantilla wilcoxi include Arizona black-headed snake, Arizona tantilla, Huachuca black-headed snake, and Wilcox's black-headed snake.[4]
Description
[edit]Tantilla wilcoxi may attain a total length (tail included) of 14 in (36 cm). Dorsally, the head is black, followed by a broad white nuchal collar which includes the posterior tips of the parietals, and the body is brown. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 15 rows, and the anal plate is divided.[5]
Geographic distribution
[edit]In the United States Tantilla wilcoxi is found in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. In Mexico it is found in southeastern Aguascalientes, Chihuahua, Coahuila, central Durango, Jalisco, Nuevo León, northeastern Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.[2]
Habitat
[edit]The preferred natural habitats of Tantilla wilcoxi are forest, shrubland, and desert,[1] at altitudes of 914–2,438 meters (3,000–8,000 feet).[2]
Behavior
[edit]Tantilla wilcoxi is terrestrial, and shelters under dead plant material, fallen logs, and rocks.[1]
Reproduction
[edit]Tantilla wilcoxi is oviparous.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hammerson, G.A.; Vazquez Díaz, J.; Quintero Díaz, G.E. (2007). "Tantilla wilcoxi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T63965A12724452. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63965A12724452.en. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Species Tantilla wilcoxi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. xiii + 296. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
- ^ Wright, A.H.; Wright, A.A. (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Tantilla wilcoxi, pp. 752–755).
- ^ Stebbins, R.C. (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. xiii + 533 pp. (Tantilla wilcoxi, p. 401 + Figure 29 on p. 398 + Map 176).
Further reading
[edit]- Heimes, P. (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. ISBN 978-3899731002. 572 pp.
- Schmidt, K.P.; Davis, D.D. (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (Tantilla wilcoxi, p. 270).
- Smith, H.M.; Brodie, E.D., Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. ISBN 0-307-13666-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) 240 pp. (Tantilla wilcoxi, pp. 172–173). - Stejneger, L. (1902). "The Reptiles of the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 25: 149–158. (Tantilla wilcoxi, new species, pp. 156–157).
- Stejneger, L.; Barbour, T. (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. (Tantilla wilcoxi, p. 106).