THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY
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Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Colubridae  

Mexican Black-headed Snake
Tantilla atriceps (Günther, 1895 in Salvin and Godman, 1885-1902)
tan-TILL-ah — AH-trih-seps

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

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Occurrences:; 313 Total; 290 Museum; 23 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its jet-black head.
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.
atriceps — From Latin ater (“black”) and -ceps from caput (“head”), meaning “black-headed,” describing the distinctive black coloration on the head.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Mexican Black-headed Snake (Tantilla atriceps: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1885 Gunther, Albert C. L. G. Biologia Centrali-Américana. Reptilia and Batrachia.  1885-1902. Taylor and Francis, London. 326pp.
1936 Taylor, Edward H. Notes and comments on certain American and Mexican snakes of the genus Tantilla with descriptions of new species. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 39:335-348
1938 Blanchard, Frank N. Snakes of the genus Tantilla in the United States. Field Museum of Natural History. Zoological Series 20(28):369-376
1966 Tanner, Wilmer W. A re-evaluation of the genus Tantilla in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Herpetologica 22(2):134-152
1981 Cole, Charles J. and Laurence M. Hardy. Systematics of North American colubrid snakes related to Tantilla planiceps (Blainville). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 171:199-284
1982 Wilson, Larry David. Tantilla. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (307):1-4
1983 Cole, Charles J. and Hardy, Laurence M. Tantilla atriceps.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (317):1-2
2014 Wilson, Larry D. and Vincente Mata-Silva Snakes of the genus Tantilla (Squamata: Colubridae) in Mexico: Taxonomy, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1(1):5-95

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 15 August 2026 10:37 CT