Pig snakes [1] , or hook-footed snakes [1] ( lat. Heterodon ) is a genus of snakes from the family of arid , living in North America .
Pig snakes |
Common hook-nosed |
Scientific classification |
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No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
Infraclass : | Lepidozavromorfy |
Infrastructure : | Alethinophidia |
Family: | Smooth-toothed Snakes |
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International Scientific Name |
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Heterodon Latreille , 1801 |
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The total length of representatives of this genus ranges from 30 to 120 cm. The head is short, massive. At the end of the muzzle there is an elongated rostral shield (of different lengths depending on the species). Chunky body. Tail moderate length. The color is brown, red, beige, green, orange with dark spots.
Semideserts , deserts , stony and shrubland inhabit. Active day. They feed on amphibians , rodents , lizards . Acquired immunity from poison toads . At the same time, the venom of these snakes is not dangerous to humans.
These are egg-laying snakes. In one clutch there can be up to twenty, and sometimes more. Like all snakes, the nosatka does not care for the hatched cubs. From the first days they are completely self-sufficient and can survive without outside participation.
The area covers the southwestern states of the United States and northern Mexico .
As of July 2018, the genus includes 4 species [2] [1] :
- Heterodon kennerlyi Kennicott, 1860
- Heterodon nasicus Baird & Girard, 1852 - Pig-nosed snake , or western hook-nosed
- Heterodon platirhinos Latreille, 1801 - Broad - nose eastern snake , or common hook-nosed
- Heterodon simus (Linnaeus, 1766) - Southern Hook- or -Goose , or Southern Pig-Serpent