Long-nosed snake
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| Long-nosed snake | |
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| Texas long-nosed snake Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Rhinocheilus |
| Species: | R. lecontei
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| Binomial name | |
| Rhinocheilus lecontei | |
| Synonyms | |
The long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei) is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. It has two recognized subspecies. The other species in the genus were previously considered subspecies. [citation needed]
Etymology
The
Description
The long-nosed snake is distinguished by a long, slightly upturned snout, which is the origin of its common name. It is tricolor, vaguely resembling a coral snake, with black and red saddling on a yellow or cream-colored background. Cream-colored spots within the black saddles are a distinct characteristic of the long-nosed snake. It differs from all other harmless snakes in the United States by having undivided subcaudal scales.[6] The total length (including tail) of adults is usually 22–32 in (56–81 cm), but the maximum record total length is 41 in (100 cm).[7]
Behavior
R. lecontei is a shy,
Diet
The long-nosed snake feeds on lizards, amphibians, and sometimes smaller snakes and infrequently rodents.[citation needed]
Reproduction
R. lecontei is oviparous,[8] laying clutches of 4-9 eggs in the early summer, which hatch in the late summer or early fall.[citation needed]
Defense
The long-nosed snake is not apt to bite, but will release a foul smelling musk and blood[9] from the cloaca as a defense mechanism if harassed.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitats of the long-nosed snake are desert, grassland, shrubland, and savanna.[1]
Geographic range
R. lecontei is found in northern Mexico from San Luis Potosí to Chihuahua, and into the southwestern United States, in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas,[8] Oklahoma,[10] and Texas.[8]
Subspecies
- Western long-nosed snake, Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei Baird & Girard, 1853
- Texas long-nosed snake, Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus Garman, 1883
In captivity
The long-nosed snake is not often found in the exotic pet trade as it frequently rejects rodent-based diets that are most readily available for captive snakes.[citation needed]
References
- ^ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: https://dx.doi.org/10.1305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63909A12725667.en. Accessed on 02 March 2022.
- ^ Cope ED (1866). "On the REPTILIA and BATRACHIA of the Sonoran Province of the Nearctic Region". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. "1866" [18]: 300-314. ("Rhinochilus [sic] lecontei ", p. 304).
- ^ Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I-XX. ("Rhinochilus [sic] lecontii ", pp. 212-213).
- Stejneger L, Barbour T(1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, p. 91).
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, p. 154).
- ^ Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 194-196, Figure 61 + Plate 21).
- ^ Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016).
- ^ a b c Species Rhinocheilus lecontei at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ McCoy CJ Jr, Bianculli AV (1966). "Defensive behavior of Rhinocheilus lecontei ". Journal of the Ohio Herpetological Society 5 (4): 166.
- ^ T. Robyn captured, identified, and released one near Lawton, Oklahoma, 2010.
External links
- USGS: Rhinocheilus lecontei
- "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- WhoZoo: Long-nosed Snake
- NatureServe Explorer: w/ 2 RangeMaps: Rhinocheilus lecontei. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Click "DISTRIBUTION" for maps.
Further reading
- Baird SF, Girard C (1853). Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part I.—Serpents. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xvi + 172 pp. (Rhinocheilus, new genus, p. 120; R. lecontei, new species, pp. 120–121).
- ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 649-650 + Plates 593, 609).
- Conant, Roger, Bridges, William (1939). What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, p. 86 + Plate 14, Figure 41).
- ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 392-393 + Plate 37).
- ISBN 0-307-13666-3(paperback). (Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 164–165).
- ISBN 0-395-98272-3(paperback). (Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 370–371 + Plate 44 + Map 155).
- Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Genus Rhinocheilus, p. 630-633 + Figure 19 on p. 69). (species Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 633–644, Figures 183-187, Map 48).
- Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. Revised Edition. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. ("LONG-NOSED SNAKE", Rhinocheilus lecontei, pp. 101, 156).
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