Southwestern Black-headed Snake
Tantilla hobartsmithi
Taylor, 1937
tan-TILL-ah — HOH-bart-SMITH-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
The name was changed to “Smith’s Black-headed Snake” starting with the 7th edition (2012). “Southwestern” confers some geographic information about its range, and therefore we are returning to the previous name.
(Boundy, Jeff, Frank T. Burbrink, and Sara Ruane. 2025. Squamata (excluding lizards) – Snakes. Pages 38-54 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.13.42.12)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.78 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of a major American herpetologist.
Tantilla — A diminutive form of Tantillus, itself likely derived from Latin tantus, meaning “so small” or “so little.” The name refers to the small size of these snakes.
hobartsmithi — A patronym honoring Hobart M. Smith (1912–2013), one of the most prolific American herpetologists, especially noted for his work on Mexican reptiles and amphibians.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Utah Black-headed Snake (Tantilla utahensis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1936
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Taylor, Edward H. Notes and comments on certain American and Mexican snakes of the genus Tantilla with descriptions of new species. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 39:335-348
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1937
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Taylor, Edward H. Una nueva fauna de batracios anuros del Plioceno medio de Kansas. [A new fauna of anuran batrachians from the Middle Pliocene of Kansas]. Anales del Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 7(4):513-529
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1938
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Blanchard, Frank N. Snakes of the genus Tantilla in the United States. Zoological Series of the Field Museum of Natural History 20(28):369-376
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1964
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McCoy, Clarence J., Jr., Garry N. Knopf, and J. Martin Walker. The snake Tantilla utahensis Blanchard: An addition to the fauna of Colorado. Herpetologica 20(2):135-136
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1982
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Wilson, Larry David. Tantilla. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (307):1-4
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1983
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Cole, Charles J. and Hardy, Laurence M. Tantilla hobartsmithi. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (318):1-2
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2017
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Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna
along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167
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