Hognose snake, (genus Heterodon), any of as much as 5 species of North American nonvenomous snakes belonging to the household Colubridae. The snake is known as for its upturned snout, which it makes use of for digging. When threatened, it flattens its head and neck after which strikes with a loud hiss however not often bites. If the bluff fails, it rolls over, writhing, after which feigns dying, with its mouth open and tongue lolling. One species, the jap hognose (Heterodon platirhinos), is typically referred to as a puff adder or a blow snake due to its tendency to inflate the pores and skin close to its head when threatened.
Hognose snakes dwell mainly on toads and might neutralize that animal’s toxic pores and skin secretions physiologically. They lay 15 to 27 eggs underground. Probably the most broadly distributed species are the jap hognose, which inhabits jap North America, and the western (H. nasicus), which primarily inhabits the Nice Plains and whose vary extends from southern Canada to central Mexico. Each species are heavy-bodied and blotchy, and so they develop to about 60 to 80 cm (23.6 to 31.5 inches) in size. The southern hognose snake (H. simus), which happens from southern Louisiana to southern North Carolina and southward to central Florida, is smaller, rising to a most size of 61 cm (24 inches).
Some authorities listing two further kinds as distinct species, whereas others classify one or each as subspecies of the western hognose. The Mexican hognose snake (H. kennerlyi) inhabits northern Mexico and the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The dusty hognose (H. gloydi) might be present in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois.
The Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature and Pure Assets (IUCN) considers the jap and western hognose snakes to be species of least concern. Nonetheless, it lists the southern hognose as a vulnerable species. It doesn’t acknowledge the dusty hognose as distinct from the western hognose, however the state of Missouri considers the dusty hognose to be a critically imperiled species.
