Species of snake
Sonora taylori, also known commonly as Taylor's ground snake, the southern Texas ground snake, and la culebrilla de Taylor in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.[1]
Etymology
The specific name, taylori, is in honor of a "W. Taylor". To whom this abbreviation refers is unclear. It may refer to Walter Edgar Taylor, who was an American ornithologist and herpetologist,[3] or it may refer to a William Taylor of the British Museum.[1]
Description
Unlike other members of its genus, S. taylori has no modifications to its rostral, nor to its tail.[1] It has 13 rows of dorsal scales at midbody.[1] Dorsally, it is brown, with each scale having a darker center.[4] Ventrally, it is white, including the lips.[4] It has a low number of ventrals: 126–139 for males, 136–148 for females.[4] Adults have a total length (including tail) of 10–16 in (25–41 cm).[2]
Geographic range
S. taylori is found in southern Texas and in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.[1]
Reproduction
S. taylori is oviparous.[1] Clutch size is about six eggs. Each egg measures about 20 mm × 6 mm (0.79 in × 0.24 in).[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Species Sonora taylori at The Reptile Database
www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ a b c Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Sonora episcopa taylori, pp. 675–677, Figure 197 + Map 51 on p. 668).
- ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Sonora semiannulata taylori, p. 262).
- ^ a b c Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Sonora taylori, pp. 198–199).
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Contia taylori, new species, p. 265 + Plate XII, figure 3).
- Cope ED (1900). "The Crocodilians, Lizards, and Snakes of North America". pp. 153–1270 + Plates 1–36. In: Anonymous (1900). Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, Showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year Ending June 30, 1898. Washington, District of Columbia: Government Printing Office. 1,294 pp. (Chionactis taylori, new combination, p. 936).
- Mulaik S, Mulaik D (1941). "Variation in Sonora taylori ". Copeia 1941 (4): 263.
- Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. iv + 125 pp. (Sonora taylori, new combination, p. 92).
