Tantilla nigriceps

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Colubridae

The family Colubridae, which includes the kingsnakes (Lampropeltis spp. ), is the largest, most widespread, and diverse family of snakes , with few physical characteristics universal among all species. The family contains 70 percent of the known species of snakes, with more than 1700 species worldwide (Pough et al. 1998). Although some colubrids are dangerously venomous , most are harmless to humans. [1]

Habitat

Ecology: The species' habitats include plains and desert grassland (including cattle rangelands), shrubland, sandhills , rocky canyons , riparian zones along prairie streams , and thorn brush woodland (Degenhardt et al. 1996, Tennant 1998, Hammerson 1999, Werler and Dixon 2000, Stebbins 2003). Sometimes this snake can be found in old rubbish dumps. It shelters underground or under rocks or other cover by day, and travels in the open at night.[2].

List of Habitats:

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.4     Forest - Temperate   
  
•     2     Savanna   
  
•     2.1     Savanna - Dry   
  
•     3     Shrubland   
  
•     3.4     Shrubland - Temperate   
  
•     3.5     Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry   
  
•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.4     Grassland - Temperate   
  
•     8     Desert   
  
•     8.2     Desert - Temperate   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Tantilla kirnia BLANCHARD 1938< /i> (Fide Marx 1958) • Tantilla nigriceps — Conant & Collins 1991: 221 • Tantilla nigriceps — Liner 1994 • Tantilla nigriceps — Liner 2007 • Tantilla nigriceps — Stebbins 1985: 219

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Diet : small frogs , very small dead fish, and the occasional centipede

Similar Species

Members of the genus Tantilla

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 60 species and subspecies in this genus:

T. albiceps (Barbour's Centipede Snake) · T. alticola (Boulenger's Centipede Snake) · T. andinista (Andes Centipede Snake) · T. atriceps (Mexican Black-Headed Snake) · T. bairdi (Baird's Black-Headed Snake) · T. bocourti (Bocourt's Black-Headed Snake) · T. brevicauda (Mertens' Centipede Snake) · T. briggsi (Briggs' Centipede Snake) · T. calamarina (Pacific Coast Centipede Snake) · T. capistrata (Capistrata Centipede Snake) · T. cascadae (Michoacán Centipede Snake) · T. coronadoi (Guerreran Centipede Snake) · T. coronata (Southeastern Crowned Snake) · T. coronata coronata (Southeastern Crowned Snake) · T. cucullata (Big Bend Black-Headed Snake) · T. cuesta (Wilson's Centipede Snake) · T. cuniculator (Peten Centipede Snake) · T. deppei (Deppe's Centipede Snake) · T. equatoriana (Equator Centipede Snake) · T. flavilineata (Yellow-Lined Centipede Snake) · T. gracilis (Flat-Headed Snake) · T. hobartsmithi (Southwestern Black-Headed Snake) · T. insulamontana (Mountain Centipede Snake) · T. jani (Jan's Centipede Snake) · T. lempira (Mena's Centipede Snake) · T. melanocephala (Black-Headed Snake; Equator Centipede Snake [equatoriana]) · T. moesta (Blackbelly Centipede Snake) · T. robusta (Morgan's Black-Headed Snake) · T. nigra (Black Centipede Snake) · T. nigriceps (Plains Black-Headed Snake) · T. nigriceps fumiceps (Plains Black-Headed Snake) · T. nigriceps nigriceps (Plains Black-Headed Snake) · T. oaxacae (Oaxacan Centipede Snake) · T. oolitica (Rim Rock Crowned Snake) · T. petersi (Peters' Black-Headed Snake) · T. planiceps (California Black-Headed Snake) · T. planiceps planiceps (California Black-Headed Snake) · T. relicta (Florida Crowned Snake) · T. relicta neilli (Central Florida Crowned Snake) · T. relicta pamlica (Coastal Dunes Crown Snake) · T. relicta (Florida Crowned Snake) · T. reticulata (Reticulate Centipede Snake) · T. rubra (Big Bend Black-Headed Snake) · T. rubra (Devil's River Black-Headed Snake) · T. rubra rubra (Big Bend Black-Headed Snake) · T. schistosa (Red Earth Centipede Snake) · T. semicincta (Ringed Centipede Snake) · T. shawi (Potosí Centipede Snake) · T. slavensi (Slavens' Centipede Snake) · T. striata (Striped Centipede Snake) · T. supracincta (Banded Centipede Snake) · T. taeniata (Central American Centipede Snake) · T. tayrae (Volcan Tacana Centipede Snake) · T. trilineata (Three-Lined Centipede Snake) · T. triseriata (Three-Lined Centipede Snake) · T. tritaeniata (Three-Banded Centipede Snake) · T. vermiformis (Hallowell's Centipede Snake) · T. wilcoxi (Chihuahuan Black-Headed Snake) · T. wilcoxi wilcoxi (Chihuahuan Black-Headed Snake) · T. yaquia (Yaqui Black-Headed Snake)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A check list of North American amphibians and reptiles / by Leonhard Stejneger and Thomas Barbour. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933. url p. 129.
• A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. url p. 21.
• A geographic classification of Neotropical mammals. 36 1958 [Chicago]Chicago Natural History Museum, 1958. url p. 629.
• A manual of land and fresh water vertebrate animals of the United States (exclusive of birds) by Henry Sherring Pratt. .. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., inc.[c1935] url p. 219.
• Amphibians and reptiles of the Big Bend region of Texas, by Karl P. Schmidt and Tarleton F. Smith. 29 1944 Chicago, 1944 url p. 94.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 108, p. 1113, p. 1217.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. url , p. 104, p. 140, p. 224, p. 226, p. 230, p. 256, p. 35, p. 51, p. 81.
• Bulletin of the Essex Institute. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute. url p. 31.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 93 1943 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 177, p. 192, p. 232.
• Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url p. 47.
• Bulletin. Salem, Mass. url p. 31.
• Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902- url p. 9.
• Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). .. London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1893-96. url .
• Check-list of North American Batrachia and Reptilia with a systematic list of the higher groups and an essay on geographical distribution, based on the specimens contained in the U. S. National Museum / by Edward D. Cope. Washington: G.P.O., 1875. url .
• Handbook of amphibians and reptiles of Kansas. 1950 Lawrence, 1950 url p. 207, p. 226, fig. 187, page 258, p. 5.
• Illustrated catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College / published by order of the Legislature of Massachusetts. Cambridge: Museum of Comparative Zoology, 1865-1875. url p. 88.
• Life-histories of the frogs of Okefinokee swamp, Georgia; North American Salientia (Anura) no.2; by Albert Hazen Wright. New York, The Macmillan company, 1931. url p. 496.
• Mammals of the Mexican boundary of the United States: a descriptive catalogue of the species of mammals occurring in that region; with a general summary of the natural history, and a list of trees / Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1907. url .
• Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. 8 1883 Cambridge [Mass.]: The Museum, 1876-1940. url p. 163.
• Miscellaneous publication - University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History. 1956 Lawrence: University of Kansas, 1946-1996. url p. 215, fig. 175, page 235, fig. 203, page 268, fig. 204, page 269, p. 5.
• Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, url p. 177, p. 28, p. 30, p. 876, p. 878, p. 882.
• On the reptiles and Batrachians of North America. Frankfort, Major, Johnston & Barrett, Yeoman, 1883. url p. 88.
• Proceedings - California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url p. 394, p. 423.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia url p. 126, p. 126, p. 328, p. 34, p. 34, p. 551, p. 551, p. 553, p. 553, p. 93, p. 93.
• Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url p. 192, p. 226, p. 394, p. 423, p. 520.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url , p. 117, p. 398, p. 475, p. 502, p. 598, p. 623.
• Report upon United States Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian / Washington [D.C.]: G.P.O., 1875-1889. url p. 626.
• Reptiles and amphibians of Texas. Waco, Tex., Baylor University Press, 1915. url , , , p. 42, p. 68.
• Smithsonian herpetological information service. Washington: Division of Reptiles and Amphibians, U.S. National Museum. url p. 12, p. 17, p. 22, p. 26, p. 42, p. 5, p. 55.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. 13 1875 Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. url p. 35, p. 35, p. 81.
• Snake venoms, an investigation of venomous snakes with special reference to the phenomena of their venoms, by Hideyo Noguchi. .. Washington, D. C., Carnegie institution of Washington, 1909. url p. 9.
• Snake venoms; an investigation of venomous snakes with special reference to the phenomena of their venoms. Washington, Carnegie Inst., 1909. url p. 9.
• Snakes of Kansas / Edwin B. Branson. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas, 1904. url p. 414.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 22 1962 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url tanner & banta, page 116, p. 644.
• The University of Colorado studies. Boulder, University of Colorado. url p. 106, p. 122, p. 129, p. 263.
• The University of Kansas science bulletin. 37 1956 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 1214, p. 413, fig. 32, page 414, fig. 33, page 415, p. 54, p. 60, p. 65.
• The amphibia and reptilia of Colorado / Max M. Ellis and Junius Henderson. Boulder: University of Colorado, 1913. url , p. 106, p. 120, p. 122, p. 129, p. 263.
• The reptile book, a comprehensive popularised work on the structure and habits of the turtles, tortoises, corcodilians, lizards and snakes which inhabit the United States and Northern Mexico. New York, Doubleday, 1920. url .
• The reptile book; a comprehensive popularised work on the structure and habits of the turtles, tortoises, crocodilians, lizards and snakes which inhabit the United States and northern Mexico. New York, Doubleday, Page, 1915. url p. 391.
• The reptile book; a comprehensive, popularised work on the structure and habits of the turtles, tortoises, crocodilians, lizards and snakes which inhabit the United States and northern Mexico, by Raymond Lee Ditmars. .. eight plates in colour and more than four hundred photographs from life. New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1908 [c1907] url p. 391.
• The reptiles of the Pacific coast and great basin; an account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. By John Van Denburgh. San Francisco, California academy of sciences, 1897. url p. 177, p. 177.
• The reptiles of western North America, an account of the species known to inhabit California and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora and Lower California, by John Van Denburgh, with one hundred and twenty-eight plates. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences, 1922. url p. 28, p. 30, p. 876, p. 878.
• Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. Topeka, Kan.: Geo. W. Martin url p. 120.
• Tulane studies in zoology. 10 1963 New Orleans: Tulane University, 1953-1968. url fig. 37, page 188.
• University of California publications in zoology. Berkeley: University Press, 1906- url p. 194.
• Voyage of the 'Albatross' to the Gulf of California in 1911. New York, 1916. url p. 621.
• Zoology of Colorado, by Theodore D.A. Cockerell. .. Boulder, Col., University of Colorado, 1927. url p. 108.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 17, 2012.
• Frost, D.R., Hammerson, G.A. & Santos-Barrera, G. 2007. Tantilla nigriceps. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 05February2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 27, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 8 providers.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
• TIGR Reptile Database . Release date: October 2, 2007
• Uetz, Peter. The Reptile Database

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 27, 2008:

• California Academy of Sciences: CAS Herpetology Collection Catalog
• Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Southwestern Biology, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles: Museum of Southwestern Biology, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Sternberg Museum of Natural History: Herp Collection
• University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
• Yale University Peabody Museum: Peabody Herp Collection DiGIR provider Service

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2545456
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Rep-7025
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 174283
• IUCN ID: 245286
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ARADB35050
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 165444

Footnotes

1. Painter, Charles W., Chuck L. Hayes, and James N. Stuart "Recovery and Conservation of the Gray-Banded Kingsnake. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. May 1, 2002. [back]
2. Frost, D.R., Hammerson, G.A. & Santos-Barrera, G. 2007. Tantilla nigriceps. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.