Glossy snake

Glossy snake
Arizona elegans occidentalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Tribe: Lampropeltini
Genus: Arizona
Species: A. elegans
Binomial name
Arizona elegans
Kennicott in Baird, 1859
Synonyms
  • Arizona elegans Kennicott in Baird, 1859
  • Pityophis elegans — Cope, 1875
  • Rhinechis elegans — Cope, 1886
  • Coluber arizonae — Boulenger, 1894
  • Arizona elegans — Blanchard, 1924[1]

Arizona elegans is a species of medium-sized colubrid snake commonly referred to as the glossy snake or the faded snake,[2] which is endemic to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The genus Arizona has only one officially recognized species, A. elegans, with several subspecies. Some have recommended that A. elegans occidentalis be granted full species status.

Subspecies

Subspecies of Arizona elegans include:

Description

The glossy snake and its many subspecies are all similar in appearance to gopher snakes. However, they are smaller than gopher snakes, with narrow, pointed heads, and a variety of skin patterns and colors. They appear "washed-out" or pale, hence the common name, "faded snakes".[4]

Most subspecies are ca. 75–130 cm (ca. 30-50 inches) in total length. The maximum recorded total length for the species is 142 cm (56 in).[5]

They are shades of tan, brown, and gray with spotted patterns on their smooth, glossy skin, and a white or cream-colored unmarked ventral surface. Coloration often varies in relation to the color of the soil in a snake's native habitat.

Habitat

Range of Arizona elegans

Habitat is normally semi-arid grasslands of the southwestern United States, from California in the west to Kansas in the east and as far south as Texas, and northern Mexico.

Behavior and diet

They are nonvenomous, nocturnal predators of small lizards.

Reproduction

Glossy snakes are oviparous. Adults breed in the late spring and early summer. Clutches average from 10 to 20 eggs. The eggs hatch in early summers and the newly hatched young are approximately 25 cm (9.8 in) in total length.

References

  1. ↑ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ↑ Schmidt, K.P., and D.D.Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York. 365 pp. (Arizona elegans, pp. 155-158, Figures 43. & 44. + Plate 17.)
  3. ↑ CaliforniaHerps.com: Arizona elegans occidentalis . accessed 8.28.2013
  4. ↑ Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Arizona elegans, pp. 197-198 + Plate 27 + Map 145.)
  5. ↑ Smith, H.M., and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback). (Arizona elegans, pp. 182-183.)

Further reading

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