Tantilla melanocephala

{{Speciesbox

| image = Tantilla melanocephala from the Atlantic Forest (10.3897-zookeys.787.26946) Figure 4 (cropped).jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Passos, P.G.H. |author-link=Paulo Passos |author2=Powell, R. |author2-link=Robert Powell (herpetologist) |year=2019 |title=Tantilla melanocephala |volume=2019 |page=e.T203321A2763890 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T203321A2763890.en |access-date=17 July 2023}}

| genus = Tantilla

| species = melanocephala

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

| synonyms = *Coluber melanocephalus Linnaeus, 1758

Elaps melanocephalus
— Wagler, 1824
Duberria melanocephala
— Fitzinger, 1826
Calamaria melanocephala
— Schlegel, 1837
Homalocranium melanocephalum
— A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1854
Tantilla melanocephala
— Cope, 1861Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Homalocranium melanocephalum, pp. 215–217).

}}

Tantilla melanocephala, commonly known as the black-headed snake, the neotropical black-headed snake, and la culebra de cabeza negra in Spanish, is a small species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and South America.

Geographic range

In Central America Tantilla melanocephala is found from Guatemala south to Panama.{{cite web|last=Campbell|first=Jonathan A.|author-link=Jonathan A. Campbell |title=Reptiles and Amphibians of Guatemala – Checklist|publisher=University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Biology|url= http://www.uta.edu/biology/campbell/guatemala/checklist.html|access-date=2012-03-10}} In South America it is found from Trinidad and Tobago south to northern Argentina.{{cite book |author=Boos, Hans E.A. |title=The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago |location=College Station, Texas |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=2001 |isbn=1-58544-116-3}} 270 pp.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of Tantilla melanocephala are grassland, savanna, and forest, at altitudes from sea level to {{cvt|2,750|m|ft}}, and it has also been found in artificial habitats such as pastures, gardens, and plantations.

Description

Tantilla melanocephala may attain a total length of {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}}, which includes a tail {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} long.

Dorsally, it is pale brown or red, and some specimens also have 3 or 5 narrow brown stripes. The top of the head and neck are black or dark brown. Ventrally, it is yellowish white.

The dorsal scales are smooth, without apical pits, and arranged in 15 rows at midbody.

Behavior

Tantilla melanocephala is terrestrial and diurnal.

Diet

Tantilla melanocephala preys predominately upon centipedes.

Reproduction

Tantilla melanocephala is oviparous.{{EMBL species|genus=Tantilla|species=melanocephala}} www.reptile-database.org.

Taxonomy

Several species of snakes, which were originally described as species new to science, are synonyms of Tantilla melanocephala. The following is a partial list in chronological order.

Elapomorphus mexicanus {{small|Günther, 1862}}
Tantilla pallida {{small|Cope, 1887}}
Homalocranium longifrontale {{small|Boulenger, 1896}}
Homalocranium hoffmanni {{small|F. Werner, 1909}}
Elapomorphus nuchalis {{small|Barbour, 1914}}
Tantilla equatoriana {{small|Wilson & Mena, 1980}}
Tantilla marcovani {{small|de Lema, 2004}}

Etymology

The synonym Tantilla marcovani was named in honor of Brazilian biologist Marcovan Porto.{{EponymDictionaryReptiles}}{{rp|168}}

References

External links

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/ktorres19/8239327445/ Tantilla melanocephala] on Flickr.