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Thickhead ground snake

species of reptile

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Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 18, 2025
Entity authorityQ2869663 ↗
Source-derived summary

The thickhead ground snake (Atractus crassicaudatus) is a nonvenomous colubrid snake species, with no recognized subspecies, endemic to central Colombia.

Description

The thickhead ground snake is dark purplish-brown or blackish both dorsally and ventrally, with small, yellowish spots dorsally, and larger ones ventrally. The first row of dorsal scales, next to the ventrals on each side, is yellowish. There is a yellowish blotch on each temple.

Its snout is obtuse. The rostral scale is small, the internasals are very small, and the prefrontals are as long as broad. The frontal is as long as or a little longer than broad, as long as its distance from the end of the snout, but much shorter than the parietals. The loreal scale is at least twice as long as it is high. Two postoculars are present; the temporals are 1+2. Seven upper labials (rarely six) occur, the third and fourth (or third) of which enter the orbit; the three lower labials contact the single pair of chin shields.

Editorial summary

“Thickhead ground snake” enters the record as species of reptile. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Thickhead, ground and snake can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 166-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Thickhead, ground and snake.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Thickhead ground snake” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Thickhead, ground and snake provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 18, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2869663. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Thickhead ground snake”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Thickhead ground snake primary sources, Thickhead ground snake archive and Thickhead research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thickhead ground snake”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Thickhead ground snake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.