Tantilla bocourti

Tantilla bocourti
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Tantilla
Species:	T. bocourti
Binomial name
	Tantilla bocourti; (Günther, 1895)
Synonyms
	Homalocranium bocourtiGünther, 1895; Homalocranion bocourti(Günther, 1895);

Last updated June 13, 2025

Tantilla bocourti, also known commonly as Bocourt's black-headed snake and la serpiente de cabeza negra de Bocourt in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Mexico.^[2]

Etymology

The specific name, bocourti, is in honor of French zoologist Marie Firmin Bocourt.^[3]^: 29

Description

A small snake, the holotype of Tantilla bocourti has a total length of 24.5 cm (9.6 in), which includes a tail 5 cm (2.0 in) long. It has the following coloration in alcohol. Dorsally, it is pale reddish, without spots or markings. The head is black, with a yellowish crossbar on the snout and a yellowish, black-edged occipital crossbar (nuchal collar) just behind the parietals. Ventrally, the body is whitish, as is the upper lip.^[4]

Geographic range

Tantilla bocourti is found in central Mexico, in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Veracruz, and Zacatecas.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Tantilla bocourti is forest.^[1]

Reproduction

Tantilla bocourti is oviparous.^[2]

References

1 2 Flores-Villela, O. (2007). "Tantilla bocourti ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63936A12729747. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63936A12729747.en . Retrieved 14 July 2023.
1 2 3 4 Species Tantilla bocourti 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.
↑ Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III. Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. +Plates I–XXV. (Homalocranium bocourti, p. 224).

Günther, A.C.L.G. (1895). Biologia Centrali-Americana. Reptilia and Batrachia. London: Godman and Salvin. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xx + 326 pp. + Plates 1–76. [Published in parts 1885–1902]. (Homalocranium bocourti, new species, p. 149).
Heimes, P. (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. ISBN 978-3899731002. 572 pp.
Nolasco-Luna, J.R.; Cupul-Magaña, F.G.; Escobedo-Galván, A.H.; Mata-Silva, V.; Wilson, L.D. (2019). "Rediscovery of Tantilla bocourti (Günther, 1895) on Isla María Cleofas, Nayarit, Mexico (Squamata: Colubridae)". Herpetology Notes. 12: 343346.

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[iucn-1] 1 2 Flores-Villela, O. (2007). "Tantilla bocourti ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63936A12729747. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63936A12729747.en . Retrieved 14 July 2023.

[RDB-2] 1 2 3 4 Species Tantilla bocourti at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

[3] 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.

[4] Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III. Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. +Plates I–XXV. (Homalocranium bocourti, p. 224).

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