Agkistrodon taylori facts for kids
Agkistrodon taylori is a type of venomous snake, also known as a pitviper. It lives only in northeastern Mexico. People often call it Taylor's cantil in English or Metapil in Spanish. It's also sometimes known as the ornate cantil. This snake was named after a famous American scientist who studied reptiles and amphibians, Edward Harrison Taylor.
Taylor's cantil is a medium-sized, sturdy snake, usually growing to about 64–90 cm (25–35 in) long. Its head has clear light and dark stripes. Its body has black and gray-brown bands, with touches of white, yellow, and orange. Male snakes are usually much darker than females. Older males can even become almost completely black.
These snakes give birth to live young, typically having 3 to 10 babies at a time. Taylor's cantils are quite rare in the wild and are considered a threatened species in Mexico. They live in different places like thorny bushes, tropical forests, and grasslands. They often prefer areas where scrubland meets forest, especially near rocky limestone spots.
Even though they are not usually aggressive, they can be very defensive and might strike quickly if they feel threatened or are handled. While their venom is thought to be strong and potentially deadly, similar to their close relative, the cantil (Agkistrodon bilineatus), there haven't been many reports of people being bitten by them.
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What's in a Name?
The scientific name, taylori, was given to this snake to honor Dr. Edward H. Taylor. He made many important discoveries about the reptiles and amphibians of Mexico. His work helped create the basis for how we study Mexican herpetology today. Taylor also contributed a lot to understanding animals in other parts of the world, like the Philippines, Costa Rica, and Thailand.
The common name "cantil" might come from the Tzeltal language, spoken by an indigenous group in Chiapas, Mexico. The Tzeltal word "kantiil" means "yellow lips" (kan = yellow, tiil = lips). This name first appeared in science books a long time ago. However, some people think the name might come from a more common Mayan language, where "can" or "canti" means "viper" and "nil" means snake.
Snake Family Tree
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Scientists believe that pitvipers first arrived in the Americas a very long time ago, possibly by crossing a land bridge from Asia. Over time, they split into different groups. The Agkistrodon group, which includes Taylor's cantil, is a single family, meaning all its members share a common ancestor.
Studies show that copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) are the oldest living relatives in this group. Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) came next, and then Taylor's cantil (A. taylori). After Taylor's cantil, the other cantil species in Latin America developed.
The history of how Taylor's cantil got its scientific name is quite simple.
- Early Discoveries: In 1938, Edward H. Taylor found a snake that would later become the first known A. taylori. He described it as a type of Agkistrodon bilineatus.
- A New Name: In 1950, Taylor and Hobart Smith mentioned the name Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori in a list. However, it wasn't officially described yet, so it was just a placeholder name.
- Official Description: In 1951, the snake was formally described as a subspecies, Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori. The first official specimen is kept at the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History.
- Becoming Its Own Species: In 2000, scientists decided that Taylor's cantil was different enough to be its own species, Agkistrodon taylori. This decision was based on its unique DNA, its isolated location, its special color patterns, and how males and females look different.
What Does It Look Like?
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Size: Taylor's cantils are strong, heavy-bodied snakes. Adults are typically about 64–90 cm (25–35 in) long. Males and females are similar in length. The longest confirmed Taylor's cantil was a male, measuring 96 cm (37.8 in) long.
'Color and Pattern: These snakes have nine large plates on their head. They also have two clear white or yellowish stripes on each side of their face. This helps tell them apart from other Agkistrodon species like copperheads. Unlike some other cantils, the lower white or yellow stripe on A. tayloris face goes all the way to its mouth. Taylor's cantil is also the only species in its group where males and females look clearly different in color.
Where Do They Live?
Taylor's cantil lives only in Mexico. It is mostly found in southern Tamaulipas state, sometimes as far north as Carboneras near the coast. They usually live at elevations from sea level up to about 500 meters (1,640 feet), but can be found as high as 919 meters (3,015 feet) in San Luis Potosi.
They also live in some scattered areas on the eastern slopes and canyons of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains. This includes parts of Nuevo Leon (as far north as Monterrey), south to El Naranjo in San Luis Potosi, and also in Hidalgo and Veracruz. Many recent photos shared online have helped scientists map out where these snakes live.
One snake found near Palma Sola, Veracruz, was first thought to be a different subspecies. However, later studies suggested it was either a normal A. taylori or more closely related to Agkistrodon bilineatus.
What Kind of Places Do They Like?
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Agkistrodon taylori lives in many different places. These include grasslands with mesquite trees, thorny forests, and tropical forests where trees lose their leaves. The area where they live is where the cooler northern climate meets the tropical southern climate. They can be found in coastal grasslands and scrublands, as well as in the foothills and canyons of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains.
The first place where a Taylor's cantil was officially found was described as a "semi-dry area covered with desert shrubs." They have also been found in palm forests and at the bottom of canyons. They seem to prefer open woodlands with limestone rocks and rocky hillsides. They especially like areas where dry thorny scrubland meets tropical forest. These areas often have trees like Texas ebony and strangler fig. Large, spiky "wild pineapples" also grow there, providing good hiding spots for the snakes.
In recent years, a lot of land in Tamaulipas has been used for farming and building, which has greatly reduced the natural homes for these snakes.
How Do They Live?
Taylor's cantils are quite rare. When scientists first studied them in the 1940s and 1950s, they found very few specimens. Even local farmers who had lived in the area their whole lives said they rarely saw these snakes. This rarity has continued, with few specimens available for research in museums.
Because they are rare and threatened, conservation efforts have focused on Taylor's cantil. Scientists have learned a lot about them from field surveys. These snakes are most active from October to March, which is the cool and rainy season. They mainly move around at dusk and night, but sometimes they are active during rainy or cloudy days.
People who have studied A. taylori say they can be quite feisty. If they are cornered, bothered, or handled, they might strike quickly. They can even lash their tails around and strike so hard that they lift off the ground!
In zoos, some Taylor's cantils have lived for a long time. One male lived for over 15 years, and another individual was estimated to be almost 20 years old when it died.
What Do They Eat?
We don't have much information about what wild Taylor's cantils eat, but it seems they eat a variety of things, like other snakes in their group. Scientists have found grasshopper remains and mammal hair in their droppings. Some snakes were also found to have eaten Mexican pocket mice and white-footed mice.
Young Taylor's cantils have been seen wiggling the yellowish tips of their tails to attract prey. This behavior is called "caudal luring." They lift their tail about four centimeters (1.5 inches) above their body and wiggle the tip.
In zoos, adult snakes eat lab mice, house mice, hamsters, and rats. Baby snakes have been fed fish, small frogs, and pinky mice. There was even one report of an adult female eating an adult male snake in captivity.
How Do They Reproduce?
Like all snakes in their group, Taylor's cantils give birth to live young. Most of what we know about their reproduction comes from snakes in zoos. Male snakes have been seen doing a "combat dance" when a female is nearby. They twist their bodies together and try to push each other's heads down. Usually, the loser slithers away unharmed, and the winner mates with the female. However, in one case in captivity, a male was killed by another male after a fight.
Courtship has been seen in zoos mostly from November to February. If this is true in the wild, it means they mate during the cool and wet season. Babies are usually born from May to October. Litters typically have 3 to 11 young, averaging 8 babies. The babies are about 17–27 cm (6.7–10.6 in) long and weigh about 12 grams (0.4 oz).
Baby Taylor's cantils have the same patterns as adults, including the differences between males and females, but their colors are much lighter. They are often described as having shades of gray and creamy yellow, or bright cream, yellow, or salmon colors.
Once, at the Bronx Zoo, two baby snakes were born inside one egg sac membrane, which is very unusual for this species. They were smaller than their siblings, and one did not survive long after birth.
Conservation Status
Even though the IUCN (a global organization for conservation) lists Agkistrodon taylori as a species of "least concern," this is misleading. In reality, the Mexican government has listed it as a threatened species for many decades, and it is protected by Mexican law.
There haven't been many studies on how many Taylor's cantils are left in the wild. However, experts say that this species faces a difficult future because its habitat is being destroyed for farming. They believe urgent action is needed to protect this important and beautiful snake. A recent study in 2013 even called the effort to save cantils "a race against time." Based on a system that scores how vulnerable a species is, Agkistrodon taylori was rated as highly vulnerable.
See Also
- List of reptiles of Mexico
Images for kids
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A female Agkistrodon taylori
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Close up view of a female Agkistrodon taylori
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A male Taylor's cantil (Agkistrodon taylori) photographed in the field in southern, Tamaulipas, Mexico (24 October 2004)
