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Southwestern Blackhead Snake
Tantilla hobartsmithi
Tantilla hobartsmithi, commonly known as Smith's black-headed snake and the southwestern blackhead snake, is a species of small snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northern Mexico.
From the article Tantilla hobartsmithi on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The southwestern blackhead snake is a small snake, growing to a maximum total length (tail included) of 15 in (38 cm), but typically averaging around 8 in (20 cm) in total length. Dorsally, it is uniformly brown in color, except for the black-colored head, which gives it its common name, and a cream-colored or white collar. On the belly, there is a broad reddish stripe, which runs down the center of the ventral scales.
Range & habitat
The southwestern blackhead snake is found in the southwestern United States, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, as well as in northern Mexico, in Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora.
Wikipedia: “Geographic range”
What it does
Blackhead snakes (genus Tantilla) are primarily nocturnal and fossorial, spending most of their time hiding in loose soil, leaf litter, or under ground debris.
Wikipedia: “Behavior”
Toxicity
Tantilla hobartsmithi is rear-fanged, having enlarged rear teeth and a modified saliva, which while harmless to mammals, is believed to be toxic to arthropods, its primary prey.
Wikipedia: “Venom”
In human culture
The specific name or epithet, hobartsmithi, is in honor of American zoologist and herpetologist Hobart M. Smith (1912–2013).
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Tantilla hobartsmithi in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 28499.