Ficimia streckeri | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Ficimia |
Species: | F. streckeri |
Binomial name | |
Ficimia streckeri Taylor, 1931 | |
Ficimia streckeri, also commonly known as the Mexican hooknose snake, the Tamaulipan hooknose snake, and the Texas hook-nosed snake, is a small species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to northeastern Mexico and adjacent southern Texas.
The specific name or epithet, streckeri, is in honor of the American naturalist John Kern Strecker Jr. [2] [3]
F. streckeri is found primarily in the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Puebla, eastern San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas, but its geographic range extends as far north as southern Texas in the United States. [4]
The Mexican hooknose snake is usually 5 to 11 in (13 to 28 cm) in total length (including tail). H.M. Smith and Brodie (1982) report a maximum total length of 47.9 cm (almost 19 inches). [5]
It is typically brown or gray in color, with as many as 60 brown or brown-green blotches down the back, which are elongated to almost appear as stripes. Its underside is white or cream-colored.
Its most distinctive feature is an upturned snout, much like hognose snakes, which gives it its common name. However, unlike hognose snakes, Mexican hooknose snakes have smooth dorsal scales. Also distinctive is the arrangement of the head shields. There are no internasals, and the rostral separates the prefrontals and contacts the frontal. [6]
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. Ventrals 126–155, subcaudals 28–41. [5]
The Mexican hooknose snake is mostly nocturnal, and is a burrower. [7] [8] It is fairly slow-moving and harmless to humans.
The diet of F. streckeri consists primarily of spiders and centipedes. [9]
The Mexican hooknose snake inhabits woodlands along the Rio Grande river plain, near natural and man-made sources of water. [10]
The primary form of defense of F. streckeri is making a popping sound by expanding its cloaca when harassed or handled. [6]
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Cemophora coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. There are two subspecies of C. coccinea that are recognized as being valid. The Texas scarlet snake was previously considered a subspecies.
Ficimia is a genus of colubrid snakes commonly known as hooknose snakes or hook-nosed snakes, which are endemic to North America. There are seven species within the genus.
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The Texas lyre snake is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.
The western ground snake is a species of small, harmless colubrid snake. The species is endemic to North America. It is sometimes referred to as the common ground snake or variable ground snake, as its patterning and coloration can vary widely, even within the same geographic region. Another common name is miter snake referring to the head marking which suggests a bishop's miter; the synonym "episcopus " is a similar allusion.
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The smooth earth snake is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid snake native to the eastern half of the United States.
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