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Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Glossy Snakes »» Texas Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans arenicola)


Texas Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans arenicola)STATUS





Description: The Texas glossy snake is typically a tan brown in color, with darker brown blotches down the length of the back. Each blotch is usually edged with black. Its underside is usually solid cream or white in color. Their coloration can vary, lighter or darker, depending on the soil and elevation of their localized habitat. They can grow from 20 to 35 inches in length. They have a thin body, smooth scales, and eyes with round pupils. A. e. arenicola has 50 or fewer dorsal blotches. Females have 221 or more ventrals, and males have 212 or more ventrals. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 29 or 31 rows at midbody.


Habitat: Their preferred habitat is sandy and rocky semiarid regions, and it is often found in areas lightly vegetated with creosote and sagebrush.


Range: It is found in the Chihuahuan Desert region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its range overlaps that of other glossy snake subspecies, and interbreeding is likely. Thus, distinguishing subspecies which share range is often difficult.


Found in these States: TX


Diet: Mating occurs in the spring, and the female lays a clutch of up to 24 eggs which hatch in the fall. Hatchlings are 9 to 11 inches in total length.


Reproduction: Their diet consists of lizards, and small rodents.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large and probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. This species is not threatened in most of its range.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Arizona
                     »» Species: Arizona elegans - Glossy Snakes
                       »» Subspecies: Arizona elegans arenicola - Texas Glossy Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arizona elegans arenicola", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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