Tantilla coronadoi
GUERRERO CENTIPEDE SNAKE
Tantilla coronadoi - Hartweg 1944
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
Tantilla coronadoi is known only from the vicinity of Chilpancingo, Guerrero at elevations between 1400 and 1525 m. It probably occurs over a wider geographic area, but collectors’ access to potential habitat elsewhere has been limited in the past.
HABITAT:
Davis and Dixon (1959) reported the second-known specimen of this species as having been found in an area covered by chaparral and grasses.
NATURAL HISTORY:
Almost nothing is known of this species’ natural history. Like other species in the Tantilla calamarina group this secretive snake lays eggs and feeds on invertebrates.
TAXONOMY:
This snake belongs to the Tantilla calamarina species group as defined by Wilson and Meyer (1981). It is most closely allied to T. cascadae, T. deppei and T. calamarina.
TYPE:
Described as Tantilla coronadoi by Hartweg (1944). Holotype: UMMZ 85697. Type locality: Vicinity of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico.
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have no experience with this species.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
This species is known with certainty from a small region; however, it is very likely to be found at other rather inaccessable localities in the state of Guerrero and is probably in no immediate threat of extinction.
REFERENCES:
Davis, W. B. and Dixon, J. R. 1959. Snakes of the Chilpancingo Region, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 72:79-92.
Wilson, L. D. and Meyer, J. R. 1981. Systematics of the Calamarina Group of the Colubrid Snake Genus Tantilla. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology, 42:1-25.