- Ficimia streckeri
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Ficimia streckeri Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Subfamily: Colubrinae Genus: Ficimia Species: F. streckeri Binomial name Ficimia streckeri
Taylor, 1931Ficimia streckeri, commonly known as the Mexican hooknose snake or Tamaulipan hooknose snake, is a small species of colubrid snake. The epithet, streckeri, is in honor of the American naturalist John Kern Strecker, Jr.
Contents
Geographic range
It is found primarily in the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí and Puebla, but its range extends as far north as the United States, in southern Texas.
Description
The Mexican hooknose snake is capable of attaining lengths of 5 to 11 in (13 to 28 cm). 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.[1]
Behavior
The Mexican hooknose snake is mostly nocturnal, and its diet consists primarily of spiders and centipedes. They inhabit woodlands along the Rio Grande river plain, near natural and man-made sources of water. It is fairly slow moving and harmless to humans. Its primary form of defense is making a popping sound by expanding its cloaca when harassed or handled. Mexican hooknose snakes are oviparous.
References
- ^ Schmidt, K.P. and D.D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York.
- Species Ficimia streckeri at The Reptile Database
Taylor, E.H. 1931. Notes on two Specimens of the rare Snake Ficimia cana and the description of a new Species of Ficimia from Texas. Copeia, 1931, pp. 4-7.
External links
Media related to Ficimia streckeri at Wikimedia Commons 
Data related to Ficimia streckeri at WikispeciesCategories:- Colubrids
- Animals described in 1931
- Reptiles of Mexico
- Fauna of Northeastern Mexico
- Reptiles of the United States
- Fauna of the U.S. Rio Grande Valleys
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