Scales: Keeled

Anal Plate: Divided

Mexican Hog-nosed snakes can be found in South & West Texas, southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and most of the eastern half of Mexico. They are often found in desert grasslands & scrublands with loose sandy soil.

They obtain a size from a foot and a half to two feet in length. Their diet mainly consists of toads, but unlike the Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, this species will also eat other items such as lizards, eggs, small mice and snakes.

Breeding starts in late spring and eggs are laid by early summer. Hatchlings hatch out in late summer and are around five to seven inches in length.

Like other species of Hog-nosed Snakes, the Mexican Hog-nosed snakes has an elaborate set of defensive behaviors from hissing, to spitting up blood, excrete waste, open mouth lunges to playing dead.

The Mexican Hog-nosed Snake was recently given full species status (Smith, Chiszar, Eckerman & Walley 2003), this species used to be a subspecies of the Plains Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon nasicus nasicus).

This species was named in honor of Caleb Burwell Rowan Kennerly (1829-1861). He particpiated in the Pacific Roadroad Survey and the U.S. Mexican Boundary Survey.

References