The preferred natural habitats of Tantilla melanocephala are grassland, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to 2,750m (9,020ft), and it has also been found in artificial habitats such as pastures, gardens, and plantations.[1]
Description
Tantilla melanocephala may attain a total length of 50cm (20in), which includes a tail 10cm (3.9in) long.[2]
Dorsally, it is pale brown or red, and some specimens also have 3 or 5 narrow brown stripes. The top of the head and neck are black or dark brown. Ventrally, it is yellowish white.[2]
The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, and arranged in 15 rows at midbody.[2]
Several species of snakes, which were originally described as species new to science, are synonyms of Tantilla melanocephala. The following is a partial list in chronological order.[5]
1 2 3 4 Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Homalocranium melanocephalum, pp. 215–217).
Freiberg, M. (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN0-87666-912-7. (Tantilla melanocephala, p.111).
Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Coluber melanocephalus, new species, p.218).
Oliveira, Felipe Araújo de; França, Rafaela Cândido de; França, Frederico Gustavo Rodrigues (2020). "Geographical ecology of Tantilla melanocephala (Squamata: Serpentes: Colubridae) in a Neotropical region: a comparison of northeastern Atlantic Forest and Caatinga populations". Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment. 57 (2): 11–120.
Wilson, L.D.; Mena, C.E. (1980). "Systematics of the melanocephala group of the colubrid snake genus Tantilla". Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 11: 5–58.
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