Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Serpentes Scientific name Loxocemidae Rank Family | Phylum Chordata Order Squamata Infraorder Alethinophidia Higher classification Scaled reptiles | |
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Similar Snake, Bolyeriidae, Uropeltidae, Tropidophiidae, Anomalepididae | ||
The Loxocemidae are a monotypic family of snakes created for the monotypic genus Loxocemus that contains the species L. bicolor found in Mexico and Central America. Loxocemidae is one of the smallest snake families, having just one species and one genus. No subspecies are currently recognized. Analyses of DNA show that Loxocemus is most closely related to the Pythonidae.
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Description
Adults grow to a maximum of 1.57 m (62 in) in length. On average this snake grows to roughly 91 cm (2.99 ft). The body is stout and very muscular. The snout is shovel-shaped, with a narrow head and small eyes to facilitate burrowing. The species is described as terrestrial and semi-fossorial, which makes them hard to observe and study. The color pattern is usually dark with patches of white scales, although occasionally after shedding all pigment will disappear, resulting in a white snake with only a small dark patch on its head.
Geographic range
Found along the Mexican Pacific versant at low to moderate elevations in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Morelos, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas. From there its range extends south through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua to Costa Rica. The type locality given is "La Unión, San Salvador" (in El Salvador).
Habitat
They are found in a variety of habitats including tropical, moist, and dry forests. In Honduras and Guatemala, they also occur in dry inland valleys that drain into the Caribbean.
Feeding
The diet is believed to consist of rodents and lizards. It has also been observed eating iguana eggs.
Reproduction
They are oviparous, laying small clutches of 2-4 eggs.
