Saddle
Leaf-nosed Snake (Phyllorhynchus browni)
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Saddle
Leaf-nosed Snake (Phyllorhynchus browni)
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Color Photographs: Jeff Servoss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Phyllorhynchus decurtatus The related Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake shares the distinctive shape of the rostral scale on the snout. However its appearance is quite different with a series of spots along the dorsal side of the body rather than saddles and light bands.
Salvadora grahamiae The Graham Patch-nosed Snake also has an enlarged rostral scale on the snout. However this scale does not have free margins and the scales fit tightly against the snout. It does not completely interrupt the internasal scales.
Salvadora hexalepis The Western Patch-nosed Snake also has an enlarged rostral scale on the snout. However this scale does not have free margins and the scale fits tightly against the snout. It does not completely interrupt the internasal scales.
Gyalopion canum The Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake has an enlarged rostral scale, but the snout of the nose is hooked upward in a manner reminiscent of the Hognose Snakes. Saddle Leaf-nosed Snake (Phyllorhynchus browni) Identification: Snake 12 to 20 inches. Rostral scale greatly enlarged with its margins free and curled upward over the snout like the hooked end of a shoe horn. Rostral scale completely separates the nasal scales. Body with a series of light brown saddles, margined with black, and separated by light bands which run into the white of the belly. Back of head and neck white. Geographical Variation: None. Range (see map below left): The Saddled Leaf-nosed Snake occurs primarily in western Mexico, but its northern distribution pokes up into south-central Arizona. Habitat: This species is found in scrubby desert with mesquite, creosote bush, and other desert shrubs. Food: Lizards and lizard eggs. Behavior: The Saddle Leaf-nosed Snake is nocturnal and burrows in either rocky or sandy soils. Although not poisonous, this species coils and acts as if it were going to strike like a rattlesnake, making a hissing noise. This behavior is similar to that of the Hognose Snakes. Reproduction: The clutch consists of 2 to 5 eggs laid in the summer. |
Saddled Leaf-nosed Snake
Similar Species: Spotted
Leaf-nosed Snake Graham Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora grahamiae) Western Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis) Chihuahuan Hook-nosed Snake (Gyalopion canum) |
Similar Species |
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