 Possible Range in California: Red
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Possibly occuring in California
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Adult, Baja California del Sur |
Reported habitat just west of the Colorado River,
near the Algodones dunes, Imperial County |
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Description |
Possible Occurance in California |
The possibility of Chilomeniscus turning up in suitable habitat west of the Colorado River where it occurs in Arizona and Baja California, and personal communications with an amateur herpetologist experienced with the species who claims to have found it near the Algodones Dunes, have led me to include the species as possibly occuring in Calfiornia.
Philip Brown, in his 1997 guide to California Snakes * states that he did not include Chilomeniscus in his book because there are no specimens of this snake in the major museum collecitions and because eminent scientists and collectors have failed to find it in California. However, he mentions that some people still feel that it could be present in the Algodones Dunes or Winterhaven area.
The history of Chilomeniscus in Calfornia, according to Brown:
In 1861 Edward Drinker Cope in 1861 described a new species of Chilomeniscus which was collected by Dr. George H. Horn from the Owens Valley. In 1917, Grinnell and Camp mention two specimens of Chilomeniscus that were collected in California. One was the Owens Valley specimen, the other was a mutilated specimen which they found near Fort Yuma California. Chilomeniscus showed up in some sources as present in California, including Wright and Wright, 1957, and Schmidt and Davis, 1953, but Stebbins did not include it in his guides in 1954, 1966, and 1985. In 1963, Banta and Leviton, who did a study on the genus Chilomeniscus, concuded that the Owens Valley specimen was "probably in error."
* Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997, pp. 180 - 181.
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| Nonvenomous |
| Considered harmless to humans. |
| Size |
| One of the smallest Southwestern U.S. snakes: adults 7 - 11 inches (17.8-28 cm). |
| Appearance |
| Narrow head, flat snout, nasal valves, counterset lower jaw, small upturned eyes, concave abdomen. Smooth, shiny scales. The internasal scales are separated by large rostal scales. Black or brown dorsal saddles on the back, usually completely encircle the body on the short, stout tail. Ground color is cream, yellowish, or reddish orange to strawberry. Cream to pale yellow abdomen. |
| Behavior |
Active at night, or during heavy rains, seldom surfacing during the day. A good and persistent burrower. Smooth scales, flat shout, concave abdomen, and nasal valves are adaptations that allow for a quick swimming movement through loose sand.
Commonly found on desert roads on hot summer nights. |
| Diet |
| Eats invertebrates, including grasshoppers, cockroaches, and centipedes, often foraging just under the surface of the sand. |
| Reproduction |
| Wild snakes have been found gravid with eggs in June and July. |
| Range |
| Found in southwestern Arizona, south along the coast into Mexico, and throughout much of Baja California. |
| Habitat |
| Dry deserts with sand or loamy soil, including sandy or gravelly washes, creosote bush flats, arroyos, and areas grown with mesquite and saguaro, and ocotillo. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Grismer et al. (2002 Herpetologica 58: 18-31) found Chilomeniscus cinctus, C. punctatissimus, and C. stramineus to represent morphotypes of a single species. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Chilomeniscus |
Sandsnakes |
Species
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stramineus |
Variable Sandsnake |
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Original Description |
Chilomeniscus - Cope, 1860 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 12, p. 339
(Chilomeniscus cinctus Cope, 1861 Banded Sand Snake)
Chilomeniscus stramineus - Grismer, et al. (2002, Herpetologica 58:18-31)
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Chilomeniscus - Greek - cheilos - margin, lip or brim and Greek - meniskos - little moon or crescent == ref. shape of the rostral scale
(cinctus - Latin - belted, girdled == ref. body bands)
stramineus - ?
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Formerly known as Chilomeniscus cinctus - Banded Sand Snake
Chilomeniscus cinctus Variable Sand Snake
Chilomeniscus stramineus Western Sand Snake
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Related or Similar California Snakes in the Same Potential Habitat |
C. o. annulata - Colorado Desert Shovel-nosed Snake
S. s. semiannulata - Variable Groundsnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
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 several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
There are no significant conservation concerns for this animal 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 Game |
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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Possible Range in California: Red
