South American Hognose Snake

Fascinating facts about the South American Hognose Snake

• In 1854 French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny's namesake was immortalized when Gabriel Bibron first described this snake, originally placing it in a different genus before it settled into Xenodon in 1994.
• At up to 56 cm long, including an 8 cm tail, this modest-sized snake can slip through sandy burrows the size of a child's hand, hiding in grasslands and montane forests alike.
• It shares its range across several ecoregions, including the Gran Chaco, the Humid Chaco, the Pampas and the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, spanning Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and all of Uruguay, and it has also been found in urban areas in Uruguay.
• The 2014 IUCN assessment listed it as least-concern, a status owed to its broad distribution and the absence of known threats, reminding us that some species quietly persist despite human expansion.

At a glance

About the South American Hognose Snake

The South American hognose snake, Xenodon dorbignyi, is a modestly sized colubrid that can reach a total length of 56 cm (22 in), with a tail about 8 cm (3.1 in) long. It resembles the sympatric venomous Bothrops alternatus. It inhabits sandy soils in open grasslands and montane forests across the Gran Chaco, Humid Chaco, Pampas, and Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, and has also been found in urban areas of Uruguay. Its diet includes insects, amphibians, and lizards. X. dorbignyi is oviparous.

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