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 Potosà 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 Oaxaca. Elevational distribution is from 1750-3100 m.
HABITAT:
Conopsis lineata is found in a wide-variety of habitats, from xeric desert mountains to pine, oak, pine-oak, fir, and montane cloud forests. It is most often encountered beneath rocks, logs and discarded trash but may also be found crossing roads.
Habitat, Hidalgo, Mexico
Rock Quarry Habitat, Hidalgo, Mexico
Rocky Roadside Habitat, Hidalgo, Mexico
NATURAL HISTORY:
Like other members of the Genus Conopsis, this fossorial snake is abundant throughout it’s geographic range. It is diurnal, and seasonally nocturnal but is rarely found abroad during daylight hours. Prey items are likely invertebrates and lizards (particularly the Genus Eumeces). Small frogs (such as Hyla) and young rodents may also be consumed. C. lineata appears to be most active during the summer rainy season (June-September).This species is Ovoviviparous, and probably gives birth to a small litter during the summer rainy season (July/August).
TAXONOMY:
Goyenechea & Flores-Villela (2006) synonomized the Genus Toluca with Conopsis. Conopsis lineata includes the defunct subspecies varians as a junior synonym.
TYPE:
Described as Toluca lineata by Kennicott (1859). Holotype: USNM 2103. Type-locality: Valley of Mexico.
PERSONAL NOTES:
My first experience with this snake was within the boundaries of Parque Nacional El Chico, in eastern Hidalgo. On the night we arrived at El Chico a cold hard rain began to fall and during the course of road cruising we happened upon two DOR Conopsis within feet of one-another. Figuring this meant a healthy population of snakes occured there, we returned the following morning to flip roadside rock and asphalt. We were rewarded with two adult and two neonate Conopsis lineata. Even during June, the nighttime lows hovered just above freezing. The snakes were found only on the south-facing roadbanks.
In 2006, my friend Jesse and I found a single juvenile Conopsis lineata in a clearing within pine forest in the vicinity of Pinal de Amoles, Queretaro.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
Conopsis lineata is an abundant, wide-ranging and adaptable snake and is in no need of protection.
REFERENCES:
Goyenechea, I., and Flores-Villela, O. (2006) Taxonomic summary of Conopsis, Gunther, 1858 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zootaxa 1271:1-27.
Taylor, E. H., and Smith, H. M. (1942) The snake genera Conopsis and Toluca. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 28(15):325-363.