[4] The specific name, aquilus, is Latin for "eagle" and refers to the high altitude at which this species is found.

[2] They are found in the highlands of central Mexico in Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México, Michoacán, and San Luis Potosí.

The type locality given is "near Alvarez, San Luis Potosí, Mexico".

These snakes are found in the open grassy and generally rocky habitats north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

They also occur in pine-oak forest, open karstic areas, grassy mountain meadows, and stony mesquite-grassland.