:''Common names: Mexican python,
Mexican burrowing python,
Mexican burrowing snake.''
''Loxocemus bicolor'',
the sole member of the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Loxocemidae,
is a species of python-like snake found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. No subspecies are currently recognized.
Analyses of DNA show that ''Loxocemus'' is most closely related to the
true pythons and the
sunbeam snakes.
Description
Adults grow to a maximum of in length.
On average this snake grows to roughly . The body is stout and very muscular. The snout is shovel-shaped, with a narrow head and small eyes to facilitate burrowing. It has been observed that both male and females have various scent glands on their bodies that secrete fatty acids and alcohols to deter nuisance arthropods, such as ants or other burrowing insects. The species is described as terrestrial and semi-
fossorial,
which makes them hard to observe and study. The color pattern is usually dark with patches of white scales, although occasionally after shedding all pigment will disappear, resulting in a white snake with only a small dark patch on its head. Scale coloring can also vary between pinkish-brown and reddish-brown, a source of camouflage depending on the soil type of the region an individual typically inhabits.
Distribution and habitat
It is found along the
Mexican Pacific versant at low to moderate elevations in the states of
Nayarit
Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...
,
Jalisco,
Colima
Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima i ...
,
Michoacán,
Morelos,
Guerrero
Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
,
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, and
Chiapas. From there, its range extends south through
Guatemala,
Honduras,
El Salvador,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, and
Costa Rica. The
type locality given is "La Unión, San Salvador" (in El Salvador).
Lifecycle
They are found in a variety of
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s, including
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
, moist, and dry
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s. In
Honduras and
Guatemala, they also occur in dry inland
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...
s that drain into the
Caribbean.
Their diet is believed to consist of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
s and
lizards. In addition, they prey on arthropods, such as underground insects and centipedes, as well as worms. They have also been observed eating
iguana
''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...
eggs, in addition to having been observed to eat sea turtle eggs and hatchlings when food in scarce. They are
oviparous, laying small clutches of two to four eggs.
In order to consume eggs, individuals have been observed to wrap two to three loops of its anterior trunk to pressurize and pierce an egg before swallowing the yolk whole.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Family loxocemidae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q527162
Reptiles of Mexico
Snakes of Central America
Reptiles of Guatemala
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope
Monotypic snake genera