Range in California: Red
Click the map for a guide to the
other species and subspecies.
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Adult, San Diego County |
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| Adult, Imperial County |
Adult, San Diego County |
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Adult, Kern Plateau, Kern County.
© Gary Nafis Specimen courtesy of Richard Hoyer |
Adult, San Diego County |
Adult, Kern County |
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| Adult in coiled defensive pose, San Bernardino County © Michael Clarkson |
Juvenile, San Bernardino County |
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Adult, Santa Cruz County, Arizona |
Adult, Riverside County. © Brian Hinds |
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| Adult, Riverside County © John Worden |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, San Bernardino County |
Habitat, Riverside County |
Habitat, Kern County
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Habitat, San Diego County
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Habitat, San Diego County |
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Habitat, Imperial County |
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| Short Video |
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A nightsnake crawls across an old cement highway into the desert. |
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Description |
Mildly Venomous |
| Not considered dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| Adults can be 12 - 26 inches long (30-66 cm.) Most seen are 8 - 12 inches long, rarely over 16 inches. Hatchlings are about 7 inches in length. |
| Appearance |
| A small slender snake with a narrow flat head, smooth scales in 21 rows, and vertical pupils. Color varies, often matching the substrate, from light gray, light brown, beige, to tan or cream, with dark brown or gray blotches on the back and sides. Usually a pair of large dark markings on the neck and a dark bar through or behind the eyes. Whitish or yellowish and unmarked underneath. |
| Behavior |
| Nocturnal, and also active at dusk and dawn.
Can be found under rocks, boards, dead Joshua tree branches, and other surface objects. Often seen crossing desert roads on warm nights. |
| Diet |
| Eats a wide range of terrestrial vertebrates, mostly lizards and their eggs, sometimes small snakes, frogs, and salamanders. |
| Reproduction |
| Lays eggs from April to September. |
| Range |
| Found throughout southern California, north to San Luis Obispo County, east and north along the western Sierra Nevada mountains, and into the Great Basin desert in the far northeast part of California, including Lava Beds National Monument. There is also a record for Siskiyou county north of Yreka near the Oregon Border, and an old record from Santa Cruz Island. Ranges south into Baja California, east throughout the southwest, and north into Washington. |
| Habitat |
Found in a variety of habitats, often arid areas, from chaparral, Sagebrush flats, deserts, suburban lots and gardens, mountain meadows, grassland. Most commonly found in areas with abundant surface cover.
Sea level to 8,700 ft. (2,650 meters). |
| Taxonomic Notes |
The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles based their 2008 list of scientific and common names on Mulcahy (2006, PhD dissertation, Utah State University). Mulcahy conducted a comprehensive genetics study of Hypsiglena, recognizing 6 species, three in the USA, and an undescribed species. He also maintained several subspecies designations.
Grismer et al. (1994 Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Science 93(2): 45-80) synonymized the Hypsiglena torquata subspecies deserticola and klauberi because they intergraded widely.
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Hypsiglena |
North American Nightsnakes |
| Species |
chlorophaea |
Desert Nightsnake |
Subspecies
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deserticola |
Northern Desert Nightsnake |
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Original Description |
Hypsiglena torquata - (Gunther, 1860) - Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 3, Vol. 5, p. 170, pl. 10, fig. A
Hypsiglena torquata deserticola - Tanner, "1944" 1945 - Great Basin Nat., Vol. 5, p. 59, pl. 1, 3, fig. 3, map
Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola - Mulcahy, 2006
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Hypsiglena - Greek - hypsi - on high and glenes - eyeball - probably refers to the vertical pupil
chlorophaea -
deserticola - Latin - inhabitant of a dry place - refers to its habitat
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Hypsiglena torquata deserticola- Desert Nightsnake
Hypsiglena torquata - Night Snake
H. t. ochrorhyncha, Spotted Night Snake
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
H. o. nuchalata - California Nightsnake
H. o. klauberi - San Diego Nightsnake
T. hobartsmithi - Smith's Black-headed Snake
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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.
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 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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