Plains Hognose Snake

About the Plains Hognose Snake

The western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. There are three subspecies that are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

The specific name, nasicus, is derived from the Latin nasus ("nose"), a reference to the snake's upturned snout. The dusky hognose's subspecific name, gloydi, is in honor of American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd (1902–1978).

The Mexican hognose's subspecific (or specific) name, kennerlyi, is in honor of American naturalist Caleb Burwell Rowan Kennerly. Common names for Heterodon nasicus include blow snake, bluffer, plains hognose snake, prairie hognose snake, spoonbill snake, spreadhead snake, Texas hognose snake, Texas rooter, and western hognose snake. Some authors elevate the subspecies Heterodon nasicus kennerlyi, also known as the Mexican hognose snake, to species level. Those same authors have subsumed H. n. gloydi into H. nasicus so that there are only two species (H. nasicus and H. kennerlyi) and no subspecies.

The western hognose snake is a relatively small, stout-bodied... Wikipedia →