Range in California: Red
Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies.
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Adult, San Diego County |
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Adult, San Diego County |
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Habitat, Riverside County |
Habitat, San Diego County
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Habitat, San Diego County |
Short Video |
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Watch a short video of this very fast-moving species crawling away quickly.
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Description |
Nonvenomous |
| Considered harmless to humans. |
| Size |
| Salvadora hexalepis ranges in size from 10 - 46 inches long (25 - 117 cm). Most snakes seen will be around 26 - 36 inches (66 - 91 cm). |
| Appearance |
| A fast, moderately-sized slender striped snake with smooth scales, large eyes, and a large scale over the tip of the snout. Well-camouflaged, this snake is pale gray with a broad yellow or tan stripe down the middle of the back, and dark stripes on the sides. The top of the head is gray. The underside is cream, sometimes shading to pale orange at the tail end. |
| Behavior |
| Little is known about the natural history of this species. Active during daylight, even in times of extreme heat. Terrestrial, but may climb shrubs in pursuit of prey. Burrows into loose soil. Able to move very quickly. Their acute vision allows them to escape quickly when they feel threatened, making this snake sometimes difficult to capture during the heat of the day. When cornered, they will inflate the body and strike. |
| Diet |
| Eats mostly lizards, along with small mammals, and possibly small snakes, nestling birds, and amphibians. |
| Reproduction |
| Lays eggs, probably May to August. |
| Range |
| Occurs in California in the southeast, from the desert slopes of the mountains north to roughly Riverside County, south into Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and east into southeastern Arizona. |
| Habitat |
| Inhabits open arid and semi-arid areas - deserts, brushland, grassland, and scrub in canyons, rocky hillsides, sandy plains. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| There are four subspecies of Salvadora hexalepis, with three occuring in California: S. h. hexalepis - Desert Patch-nosed Snake, S. h. mojavensis - Mohave Patch-nosed Snake, and S. h. virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake. S. h. deserticola - Big Bend Patch-nosed Snake, which occurs in the Southwest, is recognized by many taxonomists as a unique species, Salvadora deserticola, leaving them to recognize only three subspecies of Salvadora hexalepis. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Salvadora |
Patch-nosed Snakes |
| Species |
hexalepis |
Western Patch-nosed Snake |
Subspecies
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hexalepsis |
Desert Patch-nosed Snake |
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Original Description |
Salvadora hexalepis - (Cope, "1866" 1867) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 18, p. 304
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Salvadora - Latin - salvus - whole, sound, well preserved and dura - hide or skin -- "body covered w/smooth scales"
hexalepis - Greek - hex - six and lepisma - scale - refers to the 6th supralabial reaching the eye in the holotype
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
The common name is sometimes written Desert Patchnose Snake.
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
S. h. mojavensis - Mohave Patch-nosed Snake
S. h. virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake
M. f. piceus - Red Coachwhip
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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., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
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.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
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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) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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