''Tantilla'' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of harmless

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s in the

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 ...

Colubridae. The genus includes 66

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, which are commonly known as centipede snakes, blackhead snakes, and flathead snakes.Wilson, Larry David. 1982.
Tantilla.
' Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 303:1-4.Wilson, Larry David, and Vicente Mata-Silva. 2015.
A checklist and key to the snakes of the Tantilla clade (Squamata: Colubridae), with comments on taxonomy, distribution, and conservation.
' Mesoamerican Herpetology 2: 418–498.

Description

''Tantilla'' are small snakes, rarely exceeding 20 cm (8 inches) in total length (including tail). They are generally varying shades of

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

in color. Some species have a brown body with a black head.

Behavior

''Tantilla'' are nocturnal, secretive snakes. They spend most of their time buried in the moist leaf litter of semi-forested regions or under rocks and debris.

Diet

The

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

of snakes of the genus ''Tantilla'' consists primarily of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, including

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

s, centipedes,

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and various

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

Species

*'' Tantilla albiceps'' Barbour, 1925 – Barbour's centipede snake –

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

*'' Tantilla alticola'' ( Boulenger, 1903) – Boulenger's centipede snake –

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 ...

, Costa Rica,

, Colombia *'' Tantilla andinista'' Wilson &

Mena MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

, 1980 – Andes centipede snake –

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

*'' Tantilla armillata''

Cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

, 1876 – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama *'' Tantilla atriceps'' ( Günther, 1895) – Mexican blackhead snake –

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

), northern

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 ...

*'' Tantilla bairdi'' Stuart, 1941 – Baird's black-headed snake Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Tantilla bairdi'', p. 14; ''T. bocourti'', p. 29). – Guatemala *'' Tantilla berguidoi''

Batista Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista * Edina Alves Batis ...

, Mebert, Lotzkat & Wilson, 2016 – Chucantí centipede snake – Panama *'' Tantilla bocourti'' (Günther, 1895) – Bocourt's black-headed snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla boipiranga'' Sawaya & Sazima, 2003 –

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

*'' Tantilla brevicauda'' Mertens, 1952 – Mertens' centipede snake – El Salvador *'' Tantilla briggsi'' Savitzky & H.M. Smith, 1971 – Briggs' centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla calamarina'' Cope, 1876 – Pacific Coast centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla capistrata'' Cope, 1876 – Capistrata centipede snake –

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

*'' Tantilla cascadae'' Wilson & Meyer, 1981 – Michoacán centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla ceboruca'' Canseco-Márquez et al., 2007 – Mexico *'' Tantilla coronadoi'' Hartweg, 1944 – Guerreran centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla coronata'' Baird & Girard, 1853 – southeastern crowned snake – southeastern United States *'' Tantilla cucullata'' Minton, 1956 – Big Bend blackhead snake – USA (Texas), Mexico *'' Tantilla cuniculator'' H.M. Smith, 1939 – Peten centipede snake – south Mexico,

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, Guatemala *'' Tantilla deppei'' ( Bocourt) – Deppe's centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla excelsa'' McCranie & E.N. Smith, 2017 – Honduras *'' Tantilla flavilineata'' H.M. Smith & Burger, 1950 – yellow-lined centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla gottei'' McCranie & E.N. Smith, 2017 – Honduras *'' Tantilla gracilis'' Baird & Girard, 1853 – flathead snake – southwestern United States, northern Mexico Hardy LM, Cole CJ (1968)
"Morphological Variation in a Population of the Snake, ''Tantilla gracilis'' Baird and Girard"
''University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History''. 17 (15): 613–629. *'' Tantilla hendersoni'' Stafford, 2004 – Peten centipede snake – Belize *'' Tantilla hobartsmithi''

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

, 1936 – southwestern blackhead snake – southwestern United States, northern Mexico *'' Tantilla impensa''

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

, 1998 – Guatemala *'' Tantilla insulamontana'' Wilson & Mena, 1980 – mountain centipede snake – Ecuador *'' Tantilla jani'' (Günther, 1895) – Jan's centipede snake – Mexico, Guatemala *'' Tantilla johnsoni'' Wilson, Vaughn & Dixon, 1999 – Mexico *'' Tantilla lempira'' Wilson & Mena, 1980 – Mena's centipede snake – Honduras *'' Tantilla lydia'' Antúnez-Fonseca, Castro, España,

Townsend Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend ...

& Wilson, 2020 – Honduras *'' Tantilla melanocephala'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758) – blackhead snake – Mexico, Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. *'' Tantilla miyatai'' Wilson &

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, 1987 – Ecuador *'' Tantilla moesta'' (Günther, 1863) – blackbelly centipede snake – Mexico, Guatemala, Belize *'' Tantilla nigra'' (Boulenger, 1914) – black centipede snake – Colombia *'' Tantilla nigriceps'' Kennicott, 1860 – plains blackhead snake – southwestern United States, northern Mexico *'' Tantilla oaxacae'' Wilson & Meyer, 1971 – Oaxacan centipede snake Mexico *'' Tantilla olympia'' Townsend, Wilson, Medina-Flores & Herrera, 2013 – Honduras *'' Tantilla oolitica''

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...

, 1966 – rim rock crowned snake – USA (

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

) *'' Tantilla petersi'' Wilson, 1979 – Peters' blackhead snake *'' Tantilla planiceps'' ( Blainville, 1835) – western blackhead snake – United States (

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

), northern Mexico *'' Tantilla psittaca'' McCranie, 2011 – Honduras *'' Tantilla relicta'' Telford, 1966 – Florida crowned snake – USA (Florida) *'' Tantilla reticulata'' (Cope, 1860) – reticulate centipede snake – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia *'' Tantilla robusta'' Canseco-Márquez, Mendelson & Gutiérrez-Mayén, 2002 – Mexico *'' Tantilla rubra'' Cope, 1876 – Big Bend blackhead snake – USA (Texas), Mexico *'' Tantilla ruficeps'' Cope, 1894 – Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama *'' Tantilla schistosa'' ( Bocourt, 1883) – red earth centipede snake – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama *''

Tantilla semicincta ''Tantilla'' is a large genus of harmless New World snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus includes 66 species, which are commonly known as centipede snakes, blackhead snakes, and flathead snakes.Wilson, Larry David. 1982. Tantilla.' ...

'' ( A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – ringed centipede snake – Panama, Colombia, Venezuela *'' Tantilla sertula'' Wilson & Campbell, 2000 – Mexico *'' Tantilla shawi'' Taylor, 1949 – Potosí centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla slavensi'' Pérez-Higareda, H.M. Smith & R.B. Smith, 1985 – Slavens' centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla stenigrammi'' McCranie & E.N. Smith, 2017 – Honduras *'' Tantilla striata'' Dunn, 1928 – striped centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla supracincta'' ( W. Peters, 1863) – banded centipede snake – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador *'' Tantilla taeniata'' Bocourt, 1883 – Central American centipede snake – Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua *'' Tantilla tayrae'' Wilson, 1983 – Volcán Tacaná centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla tecta'' Campbell & E.N. Smith, 1997 – Guatemala *'' Tantilla tjiasmantoi'' ( Koch & Venegas, 2016) – Tjiasmanto's centipede snake – Peru *'' Tantilla trilineata'' (W. Peters, 1880) – Brazilian three-lined centipede snake – Brazil *'' Tantilla triseriata'' H.M. Smith & P.W. Smith, 1951 – Mexican three-lined centipede snake – Mexico *'' Tantilla tritaeniata'' H.M. Smith & Williams, 1966 – three-banded centipede snake – Honduras *'' Tantilla vermiformis'' ( Hallowell, 1861) – Hallowell's centipede snake – Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvator *'' Tantilla vulcani''

, 1998 – Guatemala *'' Tantilla wilcoxi'' Stejneger, 1902 – Chihuahuan blackhead snake – USA (Arizona), northern Mexico *'' Tantilla yaquia'' H.M. Smith, 1942 – Yaqui blackhead snake – USA (Arizona, New Mexico), Mexico ''

Nota bene (, or ; plural form ) is a Latin phrase meaning "note well". It is often abbreviated as NB, n.b., or with the ligature and first appeared in English writing . In Modern English, it is used, particularly in legal papers, to draw the atten ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Tantilla''.

References

External links

*
Illinois Natural History Amphibian and Reptile Collection
{{Authority control Colubrids Snake genera Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird