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Tantilla wilcoxi

Species of snake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tantilla wilcoxi
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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]

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Etymology

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

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

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

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

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

Tantilla wilcoxi is terrestrial, and shelters under dead plant material, fallen logs, and rocks.[1]

Reproduction

Tantilla wilcoxi is oviparous.[2]

References

Further reading

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