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Loxocemidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Loxocemidae | ||||||||||||||||||||
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 Mexican burrowing snake,
Loxocemus bicolor |
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Loxocemus bicolor Cope, 1861 |
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The Loxocemidae are a monotypic family[2] of snakes created for the monotypic genus Loxocemus[4] that contains the species L. bicolor found in Mexico. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5]
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Being the sole member of its family, its relation to other snakes is not known. It resembles members of the Pythonidae in several respects, but since that group is not found in the Americas, it is believed to be unrelated.
Adults grow to a maximum of 1.57 m in length.[6] On average this snake grows to roughly 1m (3ft). 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,[6] 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.
Found along the Mexican Pacific versant at low to moderate elevations in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, 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).[1]
They are found in a variety of habitats including tropical, moist, dry and forests. In Honduras and Guatemala, they also occur in dry inland vallies that drain into the Caribbean.[1]
The diet is believed to consist of rodents and lizards. It has also been observed eating iguana eggs.
They are oviparous, laying small clutches of 2-4 eggs.[6]
- Mattison, Chris (1999). Snake. DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7894-4660-X.
- ^ a b c d e McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ a b Loxocemidae (TSN 209605). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 17 August 2007.
- ^ Species Loxocemus bicolor at The Reptile Database. Accessed 17 August 2007.
- ^ Loxocemus (TSN 209606). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 17 August 2007.
- ^ Loxocemus bicolor (TSN 209607). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 17 August 2007.
- ^ a b c Loxocemidae at the New Reptile Database. Accessed 19 August 2007.
- Loxocemus bicolor at the New Reptile Database. Accessed 19 August 2007.
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| Chordata • Reptilia • Squamata | |
| Alethinophidia | Acrochordidae • Aniliidae • Anomochilidae • Atractaspididae • Boidae • Bolyeriidae • Colubridae • Cylindrophiidae • Elapidae • Loxocemidae • Pythonidae • Tropidophiidae • Uropeltidae • Viperidae • Xenopeltidae |
| Scolecophidia | Anomalepididae • Leptotyphlopidae • Typhlopidae |