Sonora taylori

Sonora taylori
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Sonora
Species:	S. taylori
Binomial name
	Sonora taylori; (Boulenger, 1894)
Synonyms
	Contia taylori ; Boulenger, 1894; Chionactis taylorii ; (Boulenger, 1894); Sonora episcopa taylori ; (Boulenger, 1894); Sonora semiannulata taylori ; (Boulenger, 1894);

Sonora taylori, also known commonly as Taylor's ground snake, the southern Texas ground snake, and la culebrilla de Taylor in Mexican Spanish, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.^[1]

Etymology

The specific name, taylori, is in honor of a "W. Taylor". This may refer to Walter Edgar Taylor, who was an American ornithologist and herpetologist,^[3] or it may refer to a William Taylor of the British Museum.^[1]

Description

Unlike other members of its genus, S. taylori has no modifications to its rostral, nor to its tail. It has 13 rows of dorsal scales at midbody.^[1] Adults have a total length (including tail) of 10–16 in (25–41 cm).^[2]

Geographic range

S. taylori is found in southern Texas and in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.^[1]

Reproduction

S. taylori is oviparous.^[1] Clutch size is about six eggs. Each egg measures about 20 mm × 6 mm (0.79 in × 0.24 in).^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Species Sonora taylori at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Sonora episcopa taylori, pp. 675–677, Figure 197 + Map 51 on p. 668).
^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Sonora semiannulata taylori, p. 262).