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]]