// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was Xenodon dorbignyi a bad friend? It was a snake in disguise.
| Xenodon dorbignyi | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Xenodon |
| Species: | X. dorbignyi |
| Binomial name | |
| Xenodon dorbignyi (Bibron, 1854) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
Xenodon dorbignyi, known commonly as the South American hognose snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to South America, being found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has four recognized subspecies.
Taxonomy
[edit]The first description of the species was published in 1854 by Gabriel Bibron, who placed it in the genus Heterodon.[2] The specific name, dorbignyi, is in honor of French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny.[3] Edward Drinker Cope moved the species to Lystrophis in 1885, and it was subsequently moved to Xenodon in 1994 by Thales de Lema when he divided the species into four subspecies.[2]
The four subspecies are X. d. dorbignyi, the nominotypical subspecies, X. d. chacoensis, named after the Chaco region of Argentina, X. d. orientalis, its name being Latin for 'eastern' in reference to its distribution, and X. d. uruguayensis, named after Uruguay.[2]
Description
[edit]X. dorbignyi may attain a total length of 56 cm (22 in), including a tail 8 cm (3.1 in) long.[4] It resembles the sympatric venomous snake Bothrops alternatus.[2]
Diet
[edit]X. dorbignyi preys upon insects, amphibians, and lizards.[1]
Reproduction
[edit]Distribution and habitat
[edit]X. dorbignyi is found in northeast Argentina, southern Brazil, southern Paraguay and all of Uruguay.[1][2] It has a preference for habitats with sandy soils that it can burrow into, and is found in both open grassland and montane forests, with a range spanning multiple ecoregions, including the Gran Chaco, the Humid Chaco, the Pampas and the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests. In Uruguay it has also been found living in urban areas.[1]
The 2014 IUCN Red List assessment of X. dorbignyi deemed it to be a least-concern species on the basis of its large distribution and a lack of known threats.[1]
Gallery
[edit]
Trying to eat a cururu toad
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Cacciali, P.; Carreira, S.; Giraudo, A.; Montero, R.; Scott, N. (2019). "Xenodon dorbignyi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T15183361A15183370. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Xenodon dorbignyi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 May 2026.
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lystrophis dorbignyi, p. 74).
- ↑ Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Lystrophis dorbignyi, pp. 151–152).
Further reading
[edit]- Bibron G (1854). In: Duméril A-M-C, Bibron G, Duméril A (1854). Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux. [= General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of the Reptiles. Seventh Volume, First Part. Containing the Natural History of the Nonvenomous Snakes ]. Paris: Roret. xvi + 780 pp. (Heterodon dorbignyi, new species, pp. 772–774). (in French).
- Cope ED (1885). "Twelfth Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 22: 167–194. (Lystrophis dorbignyi, new combination, p. 193).
- Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Lystrophis dorbignyi, pp. 103, 136 + photos on pp. 63, 130).
- Lema T (1994). "Lista commentada dos répteis occorentes no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil ". Comunicações do Museo de Ciências e Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade do Rio Grande do Sul, Série Zoologia 7: 41–150. (Lystrophis dorbignyi chacoensis, new subspecies, p. 118; L. d. orientalis, new ssp., p. 119; L. d. uruguayensis, new ssp., p. 120). (in Portuguese).