iPhone App
Electronic Field Guide to the
Reptiles and Amphibians of
Southern California
Available Now at the
iTunes App Store. |
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Adult, San Diego County |
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| Adult, San Diego County |
Adult, Imperial County |
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Adult, San Bernardino County
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| Juvenile, Riverside County. |
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Adult, San Diego County |
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| Striped Adult intergrade wth A. e. eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake, San Diego County © Stuart Young |
Sub-adult, San Diego County, with an unusually reduced pattern. |
| Habitat |
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, early spring, Riverside California |
| Short Videos |
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| A large adult Desert Glossy Snake cruises along the desert ground at night. |
A tiny juvenile glossy snake is discovered under a board in early spring. |
Several views of a Desert Glossy Snake crawling around at night in the San Diego County desert. |
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Description |
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Nonvenomous |
| Considered harmless to humans. |
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| Size |
| Adults 26-70 in. (66-178 cm) Average length is 3 - 4 feet. |
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| Appearance |
Smooth, glossy scales with a faded or bleached-out appearance, generally paler than other California Glossy snake subspecies - a light cream ground color with pale olive'brown blotches on the back and sides and a pale, unmarked underside. An average of 68 narrow blotches on body. Short tail.
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| Behavior |
| Nocturnal. Burrows, hiding underground in daytime. |
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| Diet |
| Preys mostly on sleeping diurnal lizards, but also eats small snakes, terrestrial birds, and mammals. Kills prey by direct swallowing or constriction. |
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| Reproduction |
| Lays eggs in June and July. |
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| Range |
This subspecies, Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake, occurs from southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and extreme southwest Utah south through eastern California into northeastern Baja California.
The species Arizona elegans - Western Glossy Snake, has a very wide range, occuring through most of the southwest, and the southeastern part of the Midwest, most of Baja California, and far south into Mexico. |
| Habitat |
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| Inhabits barren sandy desert, arid scrub, rocky washes. |
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| Taxonomic Notes |
| It has been proposed that Arizona elegans be split into two distinct species, possibly due to tail length differences between the eastern and western groups. The western glossy snakes would become Arizona occidentalis with the eastern remaining Arizona elegans. |
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Arizona |
Glossy Snakes |
| Species |
elegans |
Western Glossy Snake |
Subspecies
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eburnata |
Desert Glossy Snake |
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Original Description |
Arizona elegans - Kennicott, 1859 - in Baird, U.S. Mex.
Arizona elegans eburnata - 1946 - Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 10, p. 350, pl. 8, fig. 1, text fig. 1, map
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Arizona - 1.) Latin - areo - to be dry and zona - belt of earth - refers to the geographical distribution
2.) arizonac - place of springs - American Indian word, refers to the Arizona region
elegans - Latin - fine or elegant- refers to the color pattern
eburnata - Latin - made of ivory- refers to the pale color pattern
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Arizona occidentalis eburnata
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Related or Similar Neighboring California Snakes |
A. e. candida - Mohave Glossy Snake
A. e. occidentalis - California Glossy Snake
P. decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
P. c. affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake
P. c. deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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