Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Geophis dugesii aquilonaris
Chihuahua Earth Snake

Sonora, Mexico
August 20, 2011

The coolest find during a night of road cruising was a small snake in the bottom of a hot bucket.  “What the heck is that?” we all wondered.  It was black, with narrow white bands, and a slender, somewhat cylindrical head.  Nobody had touched the snake yet – no sense taking a chance in the dark of night.  Tim did some checking on his phone, and we were able to key it out to Geophis dugesii aquilonaris, the Chihuahuan Earth Snake, and one of only a handful ever found in the state of Sonora.  Geophis contains close to fifty species and ranges from Mexico into northern South America.   I knew of the genus, but I could not recall seeing a picture of this particular serpent.  Here was the real treasure of Mexico – a seldom-seen species, and new to everyone in our little group.