THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Colubridae  

Rim Rock Crowned Snake
Tantilla oolitica Telford, 1966
tan-TILL-ah — oh-oh-LIT-ih-kah

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.13.42.11)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.03 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Florida

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the oolitic limestone on which it lives.
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.
oolitica — From oolite, a type of sedimentary rock composed of ooids (small spherical grains), and Latin -ica, “pertaining to.” Refers to the oolitic limestone substrate of southern Florida (Miami Rock Ridge), where the species is found.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1938 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
1966 Telford, Sam R., Jr. Variation among the southeastern crowned snakes, genus Tantilla. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 10(7):261-304
1980 Telford, Sam R., Jr. Tantilla oolitica. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (256):1-1
1982 Wilson, Larry David. Tantilla. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (307):1-4

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 17:00 CT