Chicken snake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spilotes pullatus |
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| Cananina at Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, Brazil. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Spilotes
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| Species: |
pullatus
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| Synonyms | |
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Spilotes pullatus, commonly known as the caninana, tiger rat snake, chicken snake, yellow rat snake, serpiente tigre or tigre is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to warmer parts of the Americas.
Geographic range
It is found in southern Mexico, Central America, northern and central South America, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Description
Adults may attain a maximum total length of 2.7 m (8.9 ft).
Dorsally, S. pullatus is black with yellow spots which may form crossbands. The tip of the snout is yellow. The head shields may be mostly yellow, or mostly black, or crossbanded with a combination of yellow and black, but the sutures between the shields are always black. Ventrally, it is yellow with irregular black crossbands.
The body is relatively slender and somewhat laterally compressed. The head is distinct from the neck. The eye is moderate in size with a round pupil. There are no suboculars, and the loreal is either very small or absent. There are 6 or 7 upper labials, the 3rd and 4th entering the eye, the last two very large. The dorsal scales are pointed and overlapping.
Habitat
It tends to inhabit forested areas, and is often found near water.
Behavior
It is mainly arboreal, but also terrestrial. It is diurnal and an active forager.
Diet
It feeds on a wide variety of prey, including small mammals (such as rodents and bats), birds, lizards, other reptiles, amphibians, and eggs.
Subspecies
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Including the nominotypical subspecies, the following five subspecies are recognized:
- Spilotes pullatus anomalepis Bocourt, 1888
- Spilotes pullatus argusiformis Amaral, 1929
- Spilotes pullatus maculatus Amaral, 1929
- Spilotes pullatus mexicanus (Laurenti, 1768)
- Spilotes pullatus pullatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
See also
In Spanish: Mica (serpiente) para niños
