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Porthidium dunni

Adult, 100′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Adult, 100′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Adult, 100′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Adult Female, 100′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Close-Up of Head

DUNN’S HOG-NOSED VIPER
Porthidium dunni – Hartweg & Oliver 1938

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
This beautiful species is found in the coastal lowlands of Oaxaca and within a few kilometers of the Oaxaca border in extreme western Chiapas, Mexico. In Oaxaca it occurs [...]

Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei

Adult, 2,200′, Pima County, Arizona

Adult, Kern Co., California

WESTERN LONG-NOSED SNAKE
Rhinocheilus lecontei – Baird & Girard 1853
Rhinocheilus lecontei lecontei – Baird & Girard 1853

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Typhlops microstomus

YUCATAN BLIND SNAKE
Typhlops microstomus – Cope 1866

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Trimorphodon tau latifasciata

Sub-Adult, 5,371′, Puebla, Mexico

BLACK-HEADED LYRE SNAKE
Trimorphodon tau – Cope 1870
Trimorphodon tau latifasciata – Peters 1869

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Habitat, 5,000′, Puebla, Mexico

Capture Site of Pictured Animal, 5,371′, Puebla, Mexico

Microhabitat, 5,000′, Puebla, Mexico

Habitat, Northern Oaxaca, Mexico

Habitat, Northern Oaxaca, Mexico

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PERSONAL NOTES:
I have found this snake only twice to date. Both were found in July, 2005 during the summer rainy season; [...]

Trimorphodon lambda

Adult, 2,000′, Sonora, Mexico

Adult, 2,000′, Sonora, Mexico

Neonate, 2,600′, Pima County, Arizona

SONORAN LYRE SNAKE
Trimorphodon lambda – Cope 1886

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DISTRIBUTION:
Trimorphodon biscutatus lambda is found nearly statewide in Sonora, from the Sierra Pinacate and associated Lava Flow near Sonoyta, to the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental along the Chihuahua border; it also occurs in [...]

Trimorphodon biscutatus

Juvenile, 200′, Colima, Mexico

MEXICO LYRE SNAKE
Trimorphodon biscutatus – Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril 1854

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Habitat, 500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

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PERSONAL NOTES:
I have been fortunate in encountering this snake many times in the wild. I have seen it in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan and Oaxaca; often times a single nights’ drive will turn up several of these [...]

Conopsis megalodon

SAN FELIPE GROUND SNAKE
Conopsis megalodon – Taylor & Smith 1942

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Conopsis megalodon is found only in the highlands of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as the mountains surrounding Ciudad Oaxaca and Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s elevational distribution is between 1730 and 3200 m.

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This species is found in and [...]

Conopsis lineata

Adult, El Chico Parque Nacional, Hidalgo, Mexico

LINED TOLUCAN GROUND SNAKE
Conopsis lineata – Kennicott 1859

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Conopsis lineata is a wide-ranging species; it is found from Durango and San Luis Potosí south through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental (respectively) to the Mexican Plateau and Cordillera Volcanica and as far south as the highlands of northwestern [...]

Conopsis acuta

Adult, 5,800′, Puebla, Mexico

Adult, 7,000′, Puebla, Mexico

SPOTTED GROUND SNAKE
Conopsis acuta – Cope 1886

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Conopsis acuta is distributed in the highlands of northern Oaxaca, southern Puebla and adjacent Veracruz (in the vicinity of los Cumbres de Acultzingo), Mexico at elevations of 1800-2600 m.

HABITAT:
Conopsis acuta is found in a wide variety of habitats, including xeric desert mountains, [...]

Thamnophis pulchrilatus

Adult, 7,500′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

MEXICO HIGHLAND GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis pulchrilatus – Cope 1885

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This species was long confused with Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species with which it shares a striking resemblance (and is clearly closely allied to).

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PERSONAL NOTES:
My experiences with this species are limited. In August, 2004 I found two large adult snakes (one pictured above) 1/4 [...]

Thamnophis sirtalis lowei

LOWE’S GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis sirtalis – Linnaeus 1758
Thamnophis sirtalis lowei – Tanner 1988

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Distributed throughout the Rio Casas Grandes drainage of northwestern Chihuahua, to around 2,050 m Elevation.

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Some authorities consider lowei to be a synonym of the subspecies dorsalis, which occurs along the Rio Grande of New Mexico.

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I have no experience with this [...]

Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis

NEW MEXICO GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis sirtalis – Linnaeus 1758
Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis – Baird & Girard 1853

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The New Mexico Garter Snake has never been recorded from Mexico. Habitat along the Rio Grande is highly altered by agriculture and industry, but snakes may persist along canals in the immediate vicinity of Cuidad Juarez. In the United States this [...]

Thamnophis proximus rutiloris

Adult, DOR, 100′, Guerrero, Mexico

MEXICO RIBBON SNAKE
Thamnophis proximus – Say 1823
Thamnophis proximus rutiloris – Cope 1885

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Thamnophis proximus rutiloris is the most widespread Ribbon Snake in Mexico. It occurs along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southern Tamaulipas (where it intergrades with the northern subspecies orarius around Soto la Marina and Cuidad Victoria), southward through San Luis [...]

Thamnophis proximus alpinus

CHIAPAS HIGHLAND RIBBON SNAKE
Thamnophis proximus – Say 1823
Thamnophis proximus alpinus – Rossman 1963

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Thamnophis postremus

RIO TEPALCATEPEC GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis postremus – Smith 1942

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