Rhinocheilus lecontei

Taxobox
name = Rhinocheilus lecontei

---

image_caption = "Texas Long-nosed Snake
"Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus"
status = LC
status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Serpentes
familia = Colubridae
genus = "Rhinocheilus"
species = "R. lecontei"
binomial = "Rhinocheilus lecontei"
binomial_authority = Baird & Girard, 1853

The Long-nosed Snake ("Rhinocheilus lecontei") is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake. It is the only species in the genus Rhinocheilus, but has four recognized subspecies, though more modern research has cast some doubt on that classification.Fact|date=May 2007 Its name commemorates John Le Conte (1818-1891).

Description

Long-nosed snakes are distinguished by a long, slightly upturned snout, which is the origin of their name. They are tri-color, vaguely resembling a coral snake with black and red saddling that almost looks like banding, on a yellow or cream colored accenting, which can look somewhat like yellow banding. Cream colored spots within the black saddles are a distinct characteristic of the long-nosed snake. They average around 30" in length.

Behavior

Long-nosed snakes are shy, nocturnal burrowing snakes. They spend most of their time buried underground. They feed on lizards, amphibians, and sometimes smaller snakes and infrequently rodents. They are oviparous, laying clutches of 4-9 eggs in the early summer, which hatch out in the late summer or early fall. They are not apt to bite, but will release a foul smelling musk from their cloaca as a defense mechanism if harassed.

Habitat & geographic range

Long-nosed Snakes inhabit dry, often rocky, grassland areas of northern Mexico from San Luis Potosí to Chihuahua, and into the southwestern United States, in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas.

Subspecies

*Mexican Long-nosed Snake, "Rhinocheilus lecontei antonii" (Dugés, 1886)
*Isla Cerralvo Long-nosed Snake, "Rhinocheilus lecontei etheridgei" (Grismer), 1990)
*Western Long-nosed Snake, "Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei" (Baird & Girard, 1853)
*Texas Long-nosed Snake, "Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus" (Garman, 1883)

In captivity

Long-nosed snakes are not often found in the exotic pet trade as they frequently reject rodent-based diets that are most readily available for captive snakes.

References

*EMBL species|genus=Rhinocheilus|species=lecontei
* [http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/rhle.htm USGS: "Rhinocheilus lecontei"]
*cite web |url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/63909/summ |title= IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |accessdate=2008-09-06

External links

* [http://www.whozoo.org/Intro2002/CourtWill/CNW_Longnosed_snake2.html WhoZoo: Long-nosed Snake]
* [http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=rhinocheilus+lecontei NatureServe Explorer: w/ 2 RangeMaps: "Rhinocheilus lecontei."] Click "DISTRUBUTION" for maps.