Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Serpentes Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Higher classification Ficimia | |
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Similar Ficimia, Snake, Gyalopion canum, Colubridae, Reptile | ||
Ficimia streckeri, commonly known as the Mexican hooknose snake or Tamaulipan hooknose snake, is a small species of colubrid snake. It is endemic to northeastern Mexico and the adjacent southwestern United States.
Contents
Etymology
The specific name or epithet, streckeri, is in honor of the American naturalist John Kern Strecker, Jr.
Geographic range
F. streckeri is found primarily in the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Puebla, but its geographic range extends as far north as the United States, in southern Texas.
Description
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).
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.
The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 17 rows at midbody. Ventrals 126-155, subcaudals 28-41.
Behavior
The Mexican hooknose snake is mostly nocturnal, and is a burrower. It is fairly slow-moving and harmless to humans.
Diet
The diet of F. streckeri consists primarily of spiders and centipedes.
Habitat
The Mexican hooknose snake inhabits woodlands along the Rio Grande river plain, near natural and man-made sources of water.
Defense
The primary form of defense of F. streckeri is making a popping sound by expanding its cloaca when harassed or handled.
Reproduction
Mexican hooknose snakes are oviparous.