Loxocemidae
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Loxocemidae
Cope, 1861
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| Genus: |
Loxocemus
Cope, 1861
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L. bicolor
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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 and Central America. Loxocemidae is one of the smallest snake families, having just one species and one genus. No subspecies are currently recognized.[5] Analyses of DNA show that Loxocemus is most closely related to the Pythonidae.
Contents
Description
Adults grow to a maximum of 1.57 m (62 in) in length.[6] On average this snake grows to roughly 91 cm (2.99 ft). 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.
Geographic range
Found along the Mexican Pacific versant at low to moderate elevations in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, 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]
Habitat
They are found in a variety of habitats including tropical, moist, and dry forests. In Honduras and Guatemala, they also occur in dry inland valleys that drain into the Caribbean.[1]
Feeding
The diet is believed to consist of rodents and lizards. It has also been observed eating iguana eggs.
Reproduction
They are oviparous, laying small clutches of 2-4 eggs.[6]
Sources
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See also
- Loxocemidae by common name
- Loxocemidae by taxonomic synonyms
- List of snakes, overview of all snake families and genera.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 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).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Species Loxocemus bicolor at The Reptile Database. Accessed 17 August 2007.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Loxocemidae at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 3 November 2008.
Noonan, B. P. & Chippindale, P. T. (2006): Dispersal and vicariance: The complex evolutionary history of boid snakes. - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40: 347–358.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
- Loxocemus bicolor at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 19 August 2007.
- Family loxocemidae
