Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos) COSEWIC assessment and update status report: chapter 9
Special significance of the species
Heterodon platirhinos is interesting and important for several reasons. First, it feeds almost exclusively on toads which are highly toxic. This feeding strategy thus provides us with an excellent opportunity to study metabolism and digestion. The snake’s extravagant death feigning defence also provides a rare opportunity to study the evolution of anti-predator behaviour (e.g. Gregory, 2007). Also, this species’ extensive movements, solitary hibernation behaviour, unusual oviposition behaviour and large clutch size provide potential for interesting future studies in evolutionary ecology.