A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Tantilla planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake

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Range in California

Dot-locality range map

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Adult, Imperial County.

Adult, Imperial County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Riverside County © Brian Hinds

Adult, Ojai, Ventura County
© Michael Inaba

Adult, Alameda County. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of John Worden.

Adult, Los Angeles County, found active on the surface during daylight on a summer evening. © Trevor Yehle

Adult, Riveside County © Brad Alexander

Adult, San Diego County © Dick Bartlett

Adult, Alameda County © David Jahn

Adult, Orange County
© Mike Pecora

Adult, San Bernardino County © Jeff Teel

Adult, San Diego County
© Dan Kennedy

Adult, Ojai, Ventura County
© Michael Inaba

Habitat

Habitat, Alameda County

Habitat, San Diego County

Habitat, Riverside County

San Diego County coastal sage habitat

Habitat, Imperial County desert

Habitat, Alameda County

Habitat, San Joaquin County

Habitat, Alameda County

Short Videos

A Western Black-headed Snake discovered at night crawling in a sandy wash in Imperial County.

Four of us decided to stop road cruising at night for herps and walk around a rocky spot in the desert with flashlights. Granite night and leaf-toed lizards were out on the rocks along with a few banded rock lizards and a couple of chuckwallas. We saw red-diamond and speckled rattlesnakes and a rosy boa. Then Stuart Young spotted this little Tantilla crawling in the sand in a wash I had just walked across before him. It's always nice to see such a reclusive snake active in its habitat. I decided to film it exactly where it was found to let it crawl away in known territory. The video starts out with the terrified reptile moving at escape velocity, but it calms down a bit and moves more slowly before it crawls into the rocks.

A tiny Western Black-headed Snake crawls around in San Diego County.

This snake was found in the early morning in a small pit trap set out to survey the reptiles, rodents, and other small animals that were crawling around in the coastal chapparal habitat. It was filmed with some difficulty where it was found and then was allowed to crawl away into the brush to find a place to hide until night fell when it would be more comfortable continuing its nocturnal foraging (and hopefully would not fall in the trap again.)

Description

Mildly Venomous

This snake uses a mild form of venom to immobilize its prey. This venom is considered harmless to humans.

Size

One of the smallest snakes in California, about 3.5 - 15.5 inches long (9 - 40 cm).

Appearance

A small, thin, snake with a flat head and smooth, shiny scales. The top of the head is dark brown or black, with a faint light collar between the dark cap and the body color which is brownish or beige and unmarked. This collar may or may not have a border of dark dots. The dark color usually drops below the mouthline behind the corner of the jaw.The belly is whitish with a reddish stripe that does not extend all the way to the edge of the ventral scales.

Behavior

Secretive -spends much of its time underground or underneath surface objects. A good burrower, able to disappear quickly into loose soil. Occasionally found active on the surface at night on roads, especially after rains.

Diet

Millipedes, centipedes, and insects.

Reproduction

Not well understood. Eggs are laid, probably in May and June.

Range

The known range of this snake in California and elsewhere is spotty due to its secretive nature. Its range is probably less disjointed than the records show. It occurs along the coast of southern California, east and north to the desert side of the mountains as far as Whitewater Canon, and north through the San Joaquin Valley to the San Francisco Bay where it has been recorded just south of San Jose and east of Livermore. Occurs in disjointed locations in Baja California south to the cape. From near sea level to about 4,000 ft. (1,219 m).

Habitat

Occurs in grassland, chaparral, oak and oak-pine woodland, deserts. Along the rocky edges of streas and washes. Often found beneath rocks, plant debris, and other surface cover.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None.

Taxonomy
Family	Colubridae	Colubrids
Genus	Tantilla	Black-headed Snakes
Species	planiceps	Western Black-headed Snake
Original Description
Tantilla planiceps - (Blainville, 1835) - Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, Vol. 4, p. 294, pl. 27, figs. 3-3b from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Tantilla - Latin - tantillum - so small a thing - refers to the small size planiceps - Latin - planus flat and NL ceps head - refers to the flattened head from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
California Black-headed Snake
Related or Similar California Snakes
T. hobartsmithi - Smith's Black-headed Snake H. t. nuchalata - California Nightsnake H. t. deserticola - Desert Nightsnake
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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