Mexican Burrowing Python

About the Mexican Burrowing Python

Loxocemus bicolor, the sole member of the monotypic family Loxocemidae and commonly known as the Mexican python, Mexican burrowing python and Mexican burrowing snake, is a species of python-like snake found in Mexico and Central America. No subspecies are currently recognized. Analyses of DNA show that Loxocemus is most closely related to the true pythons and the sunbeam snakes.

Adults can grow to a maximum of 1.57 m (62 in) in length, with most individuals averaging a length of 1 to 1.3 m (3.3 to 4.3 ft). The body is stout and very muscular. The snout is shovel-shaped, with a narrow head and small eyes to facilitate burrowing. It has been observed that both male and females have various scent glands on their bodies that secrete fatty acids and alcohols to deter nuisance arthropods, such as ants or other burrowing insects. The species is described as terrestrial and semi-fossorial, which makes them hard to observe and study. The color pattern is usually dark with patches of white scales, although occasionally after shedding all pigment will disappear, resulting in a white snake with only a small dark patch on its head. Scale coloring can also vary between pinkish... Wikipedia →