Tomodon

Tomodon is a genus in the family Colubridae, the largest and most diverse snake family on Earth. These are South American snakes, with the Pampas Snake (Tomodon dorsatus) being the best-known member. They belong to the broad assemblage of New World colubrids often grouped with the dipsadine and xenodontine snakes, a lineage that radiated widely across South America into many ground-dwelling and semi-fossorial niches. Within that family context, Tomodon sits among the modest-sized, terrestrial snakes rather than the large or arboreal forms.

Members are found in southern South America, in regions such as southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and northern Argentina, where they occupy grasslands, open scrub, and the temperate pampas habitats that give the Pampas Snake its name. They are generally small to medium snakes with a slender to moderately stout build, smooth scales, and patterning that helps them blend into leaf litter and grass. Recognition in general terms means a ground-dwelling colubrid of southern South America with an unremarkable, often striped or blotched dorsal pattern rather than any single dramatic field mark.

Like many colubrids in this lineage, Tomodon is rear-fanged, meaning it has enlarged grooved teeth toward the back of the upper jaw and a mild secretory venom adapted to subduing its prey, which centers on slugs and other soft invertebrates. These snakes are not considered dangerous to people and are not front-fanged venomous snakes, but rear-fanged is not the same as harmless. Do not handle wild snakes; never assume any wild snake is safe to pick up, and if a bite causes more than trivial local effects, seek medical care. In the United States contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, and elsewhere contact local emergency services. Reproduction in this group is live-bearing, and behavior is generally shy and inoffensive, relying on concealment rather than confrontation.