Ficimia streckeri 5711128 194905349 2008-02-29T15:22:42Z Eubot 231599 Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]]. {{Taxobox | name = Mexican Hooknose Snake | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Reptilia]] | ordo = [[Squamata]] | familia = [[Colubridae]] | genus = ''[[Ficimia]]'' | species = '''''F. streckeri''''' | binomial = ''Ficimia streckeri'' | binomial_authority = [[Edward Harrison Taylor|Taylor]], 1931 }} The '''Mexican Hooknose Snake''' or '''Tamaulipan Hooknose Snake''' (''Ficimia streckeri'') is a small [[species]] of [[colubrid]] [[snake]] found primarily in the [[Mexico|Mexican]] states of [[Nuevo Leon]], [[Tamaulipas]], [[San Luis Potosi]] and [[Puebla]], but its range extends as far north as the [[United States]], in southern [[Texas]]. The epithet ''streckeri'' is in honor of the American naturalist [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kern_Strecker John Kern Strecker, Jr.] == Description == The Mexican Hooknose Snake is capable of attaining lengths of 5 to 11 inches. It is typically brown or gray in color, with as many as 60 brown or brown-green blotches down the back which are elongated to almost appear as stripes. Its underside is white or cream colored. Their most distinctive feature is an upturned snout, much like [[hognose snake]]s, which gives them their common name. == Behavior == The Mexican Hooknose Snake is mostly [[nocturnal animal|nocturnal]], and its [[diet (nutrition)|diet]] consists primarily of [[spider]]s and [[centipede]]s. They inhabit woodlands along the [[Rio Grande]] river plain, near natural and man-made sources of water. It is fairly slow moving and harmless to humans. Its primary form of defense is making a popping sound by expanding its [[cloaca]] when harassed or handled. Mexican Hooknose Snakes are [[oviparous]]. == References == *{{EMBL species|genus=Ficimia|species=streckeri}} *[http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/ficimia.streckeri.html Herps of Texas: ''Ficimia streckeri''] [[Category:Colubrids]] [[Category:Fauna of Mexico]] [[Category:Fauna of Northeastern Mexico]] [[Category:Reptiles of the United States]] [[Category:Fauna of the U.S. Rio Grande Valleys]]