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(Tantilla hobartsmithi)
Identification: Upper scales smooth (unkeeled),
uniformly brownish; dark cap on head usually extending three or fewer scale
lengths beyond the rearmost large scales on top of the head; rear edge of dark
cap typically straight or rounded; belly orange; anal scale divided; maximum
total length about 31 cm (12.2 inches).
Colorado Distribution:
West-central Colorado at elevations
of about 4,500-6,500 feet. Secretive, usually difficult to find, but locally
common.
Habitat:
Mouths of large canyons in areas
dominated by sandy, rock-laden soils and xerophytic shrubs (greasewood,
sagebrush, saltbush); narrow bottoms of deep, rocky canyons near streamside
cottonwood trees; rocky, shrubby slopes above creeks; under rocks in
piņon-juniper woodland; under trash in dumps.
Life History:
Females lay eggs, probably in late June
or July. The diet includes
centipedes, millipedes, beetle larvae, caterpillars, and likely spiders and
other small invertebrates.
Revised: July 24, 2003