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A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California


Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Threadsnake



(Leptotyphlops humilis cahuilae)


Click on a picture for a larger view





Range in California: Green

Red: Southwestern Threadsnake



observation link


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Adult, Imperial County
Adult, Imperial County
 
Adult, San Diego County Desert
 
  Juvenile, Imperial County  
 
Adult, San Diego County desert. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of Tim Burkhardt
 
Habitat
Habitat, Imperial County
Habitat, San Diego County
Habitat, Imperial County
   
  Habitat, Imperial County  
Short Video
   
  Alarge nocturnal Desert Threadsnake wriggles rapidly across rocky desert ground until if finds a hiding place.  
Description

Nonvenomous
Considered harmless to humans.
Size
Adults 7 - 16 inches long (18-41 cm). Hatchlings are around 4 - 5 inches long.
Appearance
A very thin snake with a blunt head and tail. The tail is tipped with a small spine. Eyes are nonfunctional dark spots visible under translucent plates. The scales are shiny and cycloid. Belly plates are not enlarged. The lower jaw is countersunk.
Coloring is brown, purple, or pink.
Behavior
When hunting for food, burrows under roots, rocks, and into ants nests. Often found under rocks, boards, or other surface debris where the soil is slightly moist. Sometimes found crawling on roads at night.

When threatened, this snake often writhes around, forming a tight coil while releasing pungent fluids from the cloaca. These fluids serve to repel defensive attacks by the ants and termites on which it feeds.
Diet
Eats ants and termites and their larvae and pupae, and occasionally other small insects.
Reproduction
Mates in the spring, lays eggs July - August. Females tend to the eggs, and may use communal nests.
Range
This subspecies, Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Threadsnake, is found in southeastern California east of the peninsular ranges into southwest Arizona, south into Sonora and Baja California.

The species Rena humilis - Western Threadsnake, is found from Southern California east through southern Arizona and New Mexico, into southwestern Texas, and south into Mexico and Baja California, Mexico.
Habitat
Inhabits areas where the soil is suitable for burrowing: brushy mountain slopes, deserts, rocky hillsides, washes near streams.
Taxonomic Notes
Some herpetologists do not recognize subspecies of Rena humilis. Those who do recognize four subspecies in the United States, and five in Mexico.

In 2009, Adalsteinsson, Branch, Trape, Vitt & Hedges (Molecular Phylogeny, Classification, and Biogeograpy of Snakes of the Family Leptotyphlopidae (Reptilia, Squamata). Zootaxa. 2240: pp. 1 - 50) placed this species in the genus Rena, making it Rena cahuilae.
Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None.

Taxonomy
Family Renadae ? Threadsnakes (Blind Snakes)
Genus Rena Threadsnakes
Species humilis Western Threadsnake
Subspecies


cahilae Desert Threadsnake
Original Description
Leptotyphlops - Fitzinger, 1843 - Syst. Rept., p. 24
Leptotyphlops humilis - (Baird and Girard, 1853) - Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. 1, p. 143
Leptotyphlops humilis cahuilae - Klauber, 1931 - Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 6, No. 23, p. 339

from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz

Meaning of the Scientific Name
Rena = either Latin - Reborn, or Greek - Peace


humilis
- Latin - small or ground dwelling -- no specific reason in original description.
cahuilae - of Lake Cahuila -- near the type locality, CA

from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz

Alternate Names
Blind Snake

Leptotyphlops humilis
- Western Blind Snake (no subspecies recognized)

Related or Similar California Snakes
R. h. humilis - Southwestern Threadsnake

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.

Conservation Status

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.
Organization
Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA) None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife None
Bureau of Land Management None
USDA Forest Service None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List





 

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