Sonoran shovelnose snake | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
Genus: | Chionactis |
Species: | C. palarostris |
Binomial name | |
Chionactis palarostris (Klauber, 1937) |
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Subspecies | |
C. p. organica Klauber, 1951 |
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Synonyms | |
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The Sonoran shovelnose snake (Chionactis palarostris) is a small nonvenomous colubrid which is a native of the Sonoran Desert. The specific name, palarostris, is from Latin: pāla (shovel) and rōstrum (beak or snout). It is one of only two species in the genus Chionactis.
Contents |
In the United States it is found only in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument of western Pima County, Arizona. The subspecies occurring there is called the Organ Pipe shovelnose snake (C. p. organica).
It is cross-banded with black, yellow (or whitish), and red bands. Consequently, it resembles the Sonoran coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus), but unlike the coral snake, it has a black snout and is not venomous. Maximum length of adults is 43 cm (17 in.).
It is active in the evening and at night, mostly near washes.
It mates in the spring and lays a clutch of up to five eggs in summer.