''Tantillita'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Central America.. www.reptile-database.org.

Species and subspecies

Three

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are recognized as being valid. One species has two subspecies, including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

. *'' Tantillita brevissima'' - speckled dwarf short-tail snake *''

Tantillita canula ''Tantillita canula'', the Yucatán dwarf short-tail snake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. The snake is found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country ...

'' - Yucatan dwarf short-tail snake *'' Tantillita lintoni'' - brown dwarf short-tailed snake, Linton's dwarf short-tail snake, **''Tantillita lintoni lintoni'' **''Tantillita lintoni rozellae'' ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A binomial authority or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or the

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, respectively, was originally described in a genus other than ''Tantillita''.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''lintoni'', is in honor of American archeologist

Linton Satterthwaite Linton Satterthwaite Jr. (1897–1978) was a Maya archaeologist and epigrapher and is primarily associated with the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania. He is well known for his works at Caracol, Piedras Negras, Cahal Pech and B ...

.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Tantillita lintoni'', p. 159; ''T. l. rozellae'', p. 228). The

subspecific name In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

, ''rozellae'', is in honor of American herpetologist Rozella Blood Smith, wife of American herpetologist

Hobart Muir Smith Hobart Muir Smith, born Frederick William Stouffer (September 26, 1912 – March 4, 2013), was an Americans, American Herpetology, herpetologist. He is credited with describing more than 100 new species of American reptiles and amphibians. I ...

Reproduction

All species in the genus ''Tantillita'' are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Species and subspecies

Etymology

Reproduction

References

Further reading