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Sonoran Shovel-nosed Snake
Sonora palarostris
Chionactis palarostris, commonly known as the Sonoran Shovel-nosed snake, is a species of small nonvenomous colubrid which is a native of the Sonoran Desert in North America.
From the article Sonora palarostris on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
S. palarostris is cross-banded with black, yellow (or whitish), and red bands. Consequently, it resembles the Sonoran coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus). The mnemonic "red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black, friend of Jack" doesn't work with this snake. However, unlike the coral snake, which has a black snout, Sonora palarostris has a yellow snout and is not venomous. Also on a coral snake, the bands go all the way around, but S. palarostris has a solid yellow belly. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 15 rows at midbody; ventrals, 141–181; subcaudals, 34–64, divided. Maximum total length (including tail) of adults is 43 cm (17 in).
Range & habitat
C. palarostris is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. 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). In Mexico it is found only in the state of Sonora.
Wikipedia: “Geographic range”
In human culture
The specific name, palarostris, is from Latin: pāla (shovel) and rōstrum (beak or snout).
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Sonora palarostris in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1424677.