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Salvadora grahamiae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salvadora grahamiae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Salvadora
Species:
S. grahamiae
Binomial name
Salvadora grahamiae
Baird & Girard, 1853
Synonyms[2]
  • Salvadora grahamiae
    Baird & Girard, 1853
  • Phimothyra grahamiae
    Cope, 1879
  • Salvadora grahamiae
    Garman, 1884

Salvadora grahamiae, also known commonly as the eastern patch-nosed snake and the mountain patchnose snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.[2]

Etymology

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The specific name, grahamiae, is in honor of Colonel James Duncan Graham, United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers.[3]

Geographic range

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S. grahamiae is found in the US states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Querétaro, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.[2]

Habitat

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S. grahamiae occurs in a wide variety of habitats including forest, savanna, shrubland, grassland, and desert, at altitudes from sea level to 1,980 m (6,500 ft).[1]

Description

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S. grahamiae may attain a total length (including tail) of 47 in (120 cm). It has eight upper labials. The posterior chin shields touch or are separated by only one small scale.[4]

Diet

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S. grahamiae preys predominately upon lizards, especially those of the genus Aspidoscelis.[5] It also eats reptile eggs, small snakes, nestling birds, and small mammals.[6]

Reproduction

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S. grahamiae is oviparous.[2] Eggs are laid in April–June, and clutch size is 5–10.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hammerson, G.A.; Frost, D.R. (2007). "Salvadora grahamiae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T63911A12726058. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63911A12726058.en. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Species Salvadora grahamiae at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  3. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Salvadora grahamiae, p. 105).
  4. ^ Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. (Illustrated by David M. Dennis and Sy Barlowe). New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback), ISBN 0-307-47009-1 (hardcover). (Salvadora grahamiae, pp. 19–4195).
  5. ^ 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. (Salvadora grahamiae, pp. 136–139, Figure 35).
  6. ^ a b Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Salvadora grahamiae, p. 357–358 + Plate 47, Figure 21 + Map 145).

Further reading

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  • Baird SF, Girard C (1853). Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part I.—Serpents. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xvi + 172 pp. ("Salvadora Grahamiæ ", new species, pp. 104–105).
  • Cope ED (1879). "Eleventh Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 18: 261–277. ("Phimothyra grahamiæ ", new combination, p. 262).
  • Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 207 figures, 47 color plates. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Salvadora grahamiae, p. 37, Figure182 + Plate 37).
  • 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 2 volumes). (Salvadora grahamiae, pp. 246–249, Figure 188).