Tantilla New World colubrid snakes which includes 64 species commonly known as centipede snakes , blackhead snakes , and flathead snakes .
Tantilla are small snakes, rarely exceeding 20 cm (8 inches) in total length. They are generally varying shades of brown , red or black in color. Some species have a brown body with a black head.
Tantilla are nocturnal, secretive snakes. They spend most of their time buried in the moist leaf litter of semi-forested regions or under rocks and debris.
Their diet consists primarily of invertebrates , including scorpions , centipedes , spiders , and various insects .
Tantilla albiceps Barbour , 1925Panama Tantilla alticola (Boulenger , 1903) - Boulenger 's centipede snake - Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama , Colombia Tantilla andinista Wilson & Mena, 1980 - Andes centipede snake - Ecuador Tantilla armillata Cope , 1876El Salvador Tantilla atriceps (Günther, 1895) - Mexican blackhead snake - USA (Arizona , Texas , New Mexico ), northern Mexico Tantilla bairdi Stuart, 1941 - Baird's blackhead snake - Guatemala Tantilla bocourti (Günther, 1895) - Bocourt's blackhead snake - MexicoTantilla boipiranga Sawaya & Sazima, 2003 - Brazil Tantilla brevicauda Mertens , 1952Tantilla briggsi Savitzky & H.M. Smith , 1971 - Briggs' centipede snake - MexicoTantilla calamarina Cope , 1876Tantilla capistrata Cope, 1876 - Capistrata centipede snake - Peru Tantilla cascadae Wilson & Meyer, 1981 - Michoacán centipede snake - MexicoTantilla ceboruca Canseco-Márquez et al., 2007 - MexicoTantilla coronadoi Hartweg , 1944Tantilla coronata Baird & Girard , 1853Tantilla cucullata Minton, 1956 - Big Bend blackhead snake - USA (Texas), MexicoTantilla cuesta Wilson, 1982 - Wilson's centipede snake - GuatemalaTantilla cuniculator H.M. Smith , 1939Belize , GuatemalaTantilla deppei (Bocourt ) - Deppe's centipede snake - MexicoTantilla deviatrix Barbour, 1916 - MexicoTantilla equatoriana Wilson & Mena, 1980 - equator centipede snake - EcuadorTantilla flavilineata H.M. Smith & Burger, 1950 - yellow-lined centipede snake - MexicoTantilla fraseri (Günther, 1895) - Ecuador, PeruTantilla gracilis Baird & Girard , 1853Tantilla hendersoni Stafford, 2004 - Peten centipede snake - BelizeTantilla hobartsmithi Taylor , 1936Tantilla impensa Campbell, 1998 - GuatemalaTantilla insulamontana Wilson & Mena, 1980 - mountain centipede snake - EcuadorTantilla jani (Günther, 1895) - Jan's centipede snake - Mexico, GuatemalaTantilla johnsoni Wilson, Vaughn & Dixon, 1999 - MexicoTantilla lempira Wilson & Mena, 1980 - Mena's centipede snake - Honduras Tantilla longifrontalis (Boulenger, 1896) - Colombia, EcuadorTantilla melanocephala (Linnaeus , 1758) - blackhead snake - Mexico, Central and South America .Tantilla mexicana (Günther, 1862) - Mexico, GuatemalaTantilla miyatai Wilson & Knight, 1987 - EcuadorTantilla moesta (Günther, 1863) - blackbelly centipede snake - Mexico, Guatemala, BelizeTantilla nigra (Boulenger, 1914) - black centipede snake - ColombiaTantilla nigriceps Kennicott , 1860Tantilla oaxacae Wilson & Meyer, 1971 - Oaxacan centipede snake - MexicoTantilla oolitica Telford, 1966 - rim rock crowned snake - USA (Florida)Tantilla petersi Wilson, 1979 - Peters' blackhead snakeTantilla planiceps (Blainville , 1835) - western blackhead snake - United States (California ), northern MexicoTantilla relicta Telford, 1966 - Florida crowned snake - USA (Florida)Tantilla reticulata (Cope, 1860) - reticulate centipede snake - Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, ColombiaTantilla robusta Canseco-Márquez, Mendelson & Gutiérrez-Mayén, 2002 - MexicoTantilla rubra Cope, 1876 - Big Bend blackhead snake - USA (Texas), MexicoTantilla schistosa (Bocourt, 1883) - red earth centipede snake - Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras , Nicaragua, Costa Rica, PanamaTantilla semicincta (A.M.C. Duméril , Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril , 1854) - ringed centipede snake - Panama, Colombia, VenezuelaTantilla sertula Wilson & Campbell, 2000 - MexicoTantilla shawi Taylor , 1949Tantilla slavensi Pérez-Higareda, H.M. Smith & R.B. Smith, 1985 - Slavens' centipede snake - MexicoTantilla striata Dunn , 1928Tantilla supracincta (W. Peters , 1863) - banded centipede snake - Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, EcuadorTantilla taeniata Bocourt, 1883 - Central American centipede snake - Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, NicaraguaTantilla tayrae Wilson, 1983 - Volcán Tacaná centipede snake - MexicoTantilla tecta Campell & E.N. Smith, 1997 - GuatemalaTantilla trilineata (W. Peters , 1880) - Brazilian three-lined centipede snake - BrazilTantilla triseriata H.M. Smith & P.W. Smith, 1951 - Mexican three-lined centipede snake - MexicoTantilla tritaeniata H.M. Smith & Williams, 1966 - three-banded centipede snake - HondurasTantilla vermiformis (Hallowell , 1861) - Hallowell's centipede snake - Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El SalvatorTantilla vulcani Campbell, 1998 - GuatemalaTantilla wilcoxi Stejneger, 1902 - Chihuahuan blackhead snake - USA (Arizona), northern MexicoTantilla yaquia H.M. Smith, 1942 - Yaqui blackhead snake - USA (Arizona, New Mexico), MexicoNota bene binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Tantilla .
