Neotropical Sunbeam Snake: Loxocemidae - Physical Characteristics, Diet, Behavior And Reproduction - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, NEOTROPICAL SUNBEAM SNAKES AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS

species accessed september world

This snake lives from southwestern Mexico through much of Central America, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northwestern Costa Rica.

Neotropical sunbeam snakes live in warm climates and a variety of forested areas, but not in the mountains. They also sometimes make their home along the beaches of the coastline. They are secretive animals that hide among rocks and leaves, beneath logs and/or under their bark, in below-ground holes, and even in ant nests.

This is not a typical pet species, probably because of its tendency to spend much of its time underground. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists this species as one that people cannot freely buy and sell.

This species is not listed as endangered or threatened.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Books

Burnie, David, and Don Wilson, eds. The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife. New York: DK Publishing, 2001.

Greene, H. W. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

McDiarmid, R. W., J. A. Campbell, and T. Touré. Snake Species of the World. Vol. 1. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Washington, DC: The Herpetologists' League, 1999.

Savage, J. M. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.

Wilson, L. D., and J. R. Meyer. The Snakes of Honduras. 2nd ed. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1985.

Web sites

"New World Sunbeam Snake." Vida Preciosa International Inc. http://www.vpi.com/5VPIBreeders/NewWorldSunbeamSnake/NewWorldSunbeamSnake.htm (accessed on September 11, 2004).

"Mexican Burrowing Python, Loxocemus." Glasgow Zoopark. http://www.glasgowzoo.co.uk/articles/coldblooded/mexburrowingpyth.php (accessed on September 11, 2004).

"Mexican Burrowing Snake." Utah's Hogle Zoo. http://www.hoglezoo.org/animals/view.php?id=42 (accessed on September 11, 2004).

Other sources

"Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora." http://www.cites.org (accessed on September 9, 2004).

Additional Topics

Neotropical Sunbeam Snake: Loxocemidae - Physical Characteristics

This family has only one species, the neotropical sunbeam snake. It also is known as a Mexican burrowing python, New World python, ground python, dwarf python, and burrowing boa, but it is actually neither a boa nor a python. Boas and pythons are in separate families. For many years, some researchers felt this snake was similar enough to the boas that it should be placed in the Boidae family, but …

Neotropical Sunbeam Snake: Loxocemidae - Diet

This snake will eat small mammals and adult and young lizards, including whip-tailed lizards. It also eats the eggs of black and green iguanas and olive Ridley seaturtles. The snake apparently crawls into the lizard and turtle nests, wraps its body around the eggs, then moves in with its head to swallow them whole. In captivity, the snakes will sometimes bite into the eggs, but then swallow the en…

Neotropical Sunbeam Snake: Loxocemidae - Behavior And Reproduction

Because this snake spends a good deal of its time underground, scientists know little about the details of its behavior in the wild but have learned some information from captive snakes, which are held in various zoos around the world. They are called semi-fossorial (SEM-ee-faw-SOR-ee-ul) animals. "Fossorial" means that they spend time below ground, and adding "semi"…

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