CaliforniaHerps.com

A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California




Western Glossy Snake - Arizona elegans

Desert Glossy Snake - Arizona elegans eburnata

Klauber, 1946
Click on a picture for a larger view
glossy snakes range mapRed: Range of this subspecies in California
Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake

Range of other subspecies in California:

Orange: Arizona elegans occidentalis - California Glossy Snake

Purple: Arizona elegans candida - Mojave Glossy Snake


Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names







observation link





Desert Glossy Snake
Adult, San Diego County Desert
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
  Adult, San Diego County Desert  
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
Adult, San Diego County Desert
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
Adult, San Diego County Desert Adult, Imperial County
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
Adult, San Bernardino County Desert
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Mohave Glossy Snake
Adult, San Diego County Desert Adult, Riverside County © Jeff Kahler
 
Juveniles
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
Defecating juvenile, Riverside County Desert
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake  
Sub-adult, San Diego County Desert, with unusually reduced markings  
     

Snakes from areas near where two subspecies come into contact.
(Intergrades, or subspecies unknown)

California Glossy Snake California Glossy Snake California Glossy Snake
Striped juvenile, possible intergrade wth A. e. occidentalis - California Glossy Snake,
San Diego County © Stuart Young
Striped adult, possible intergrade wth A. e. occidentalis - California Glossy Snake,
San Diego County © Ross Padilla
     
Habitat
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Habitat Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Habitat Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Habitat
Habitat, San Diego County desert Habitat, San Diego County desert Habitat, San Diego County desert
Desert Banded Gecko Habitat Desert Glossy Snake Habitat Western Side-blotched Lizard Habitat
Habitat, Imperial County desert

Habitat, early spring,
Riverside California desert
Habitat, San Diego County
desert mountains
  Granite Spiny Lizard Habitat  
  Habitat, San Diego County
desert mountains
 
     
Short Videos
Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake Desert Glossy Snake
A large adult Desert Glossy Snake cruises along the desert ground at night. A tiny juvenile glossy snake is discovered under a board in early spring. Several views of a Desert Glossy Snake crawling around at night in the San Diego County desert.
   
Description

Not Dangerous - This snake does not have venom that can cause death or serious illness or injury in most humans.

Commonly described as "harmless" or "not poisonous" to indicate that its bite is not dangerous, but "not venomous" is more accurate. (A poisonous snake can hurt you if you eat it. A venomous snake can hurt you if it bites you.)

Length
Adults are 26-70 inches in length (66-178 cm). (Stebbins, 2003) Average length is 3 - 4 feet.

Appearance
A medium-sized muscular snake with smooth, glossy scales, a faded or bleached-out appearance, and a short tail.
Rostral scale (on the nose) is enlarged for digging (but not as much so as that of a patch-nosed snake or a leaf-nosed snake.)
Pupils are rounded.
Color and Pattern
A light cream ground color with pale olive-brown blotches on the back and sides and a pale, unmarked underside.
Dark line behind each eye and a dark line (a "unibrow") between the eyes.
Generally paler than other California Glossy snake subspecies.

An average of 68 narrow blotches on body.
Similar Snakes
Comparison of the 3 subspecies of Arizona elegans in California, along with sympatric species similar in appearance - Pituophis catenifer - Gopher Snake, Trimorphodon biscutatus - Lyre Snake, Hypsiglena - Night Snakes, Coluber constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-Bellied Racer (juvenile).

Life History and Behavior

Activity
Nocturnal.
Hides underground in daytime under rocks, in exsisting burrows, or uses its specialized nose to make its own burrow.
Diet and Feeding
Preys mostly on sleeping diurnal lizards, but also eats small snakes, terrestrial birds, and nocturnally-active mammals.
Hunts active mammals at night by waiting in ambush.
Kills prey by direct swallowing or constriction.
Reproduction
Females are oviparous - laying from 3 - 23 eggs (more often 5-12) in June and July. (Stebbins, 2003)
Eggs most likely hatch in late summer and early fall.

Habitat
Inhabits barren sandy desert, arid scrub, rocky washes.
Appears to prefer microhabitats of open areas and areas with soil loose enough for easy burrowing.

Geographical Range
This subspecies, Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake, occurs from southern Nevada, northwest Arizona and extreme southwest Utah south through eastern California into northeastern Baja California.

The species Arizona elegans - Western Glossy Snake, has a very wide range, occurring through most of the southwest, and the southeastern part of the Midwest, and south into Mexico, including northern Baja California.

Full Species Range Map
Elevational Range
The species is found from below sea level to around 7,218 ft. (2,200 m). (Stebbins, 2003)

Notes on Taxonomy
ICollins elevated the western Glossy Snakes - A. e. occidentalis, A. e. eburnata, and A. e. candida - to specific status (Arizona occidentalis) (1991, Herp. Review 22:42-43) with the eastern Glossy Snakes remaining Arizona elegans, but this change has not been widely accepted.


Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake (Wright & Wright 1957, Stebbins 1966, 1985, 2003, 2012)
Arizona elegans eburnata
(SDNHS 1946)
Arizona elegans -
Faded Snake (Rhinechis elegans; Coluber arizonae. Smooth-scaled Coluber) (Grinnell and Camp 1917)
Arizona elegans (Kennicott, 1859)

Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None.

Taxonomy
Family Colubridae Colubrids Oppel, 1811
Genus Arizona Glossy Snakes Kennicott, 1859
Species elegans Western Glossy Snake Kennicott, 1859
Subspecies


eburnata Desert Glossy Snake Klauber, 1946
Original Description
Arizona elegans - Kennicott, 1859 - in Baird, U.S. Mex.
Arizona elegans eburnata - 1946 - Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 10, p. 350, pl. 8, fig. 1, text fig. 1, map

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

Meaning of the Scientific Name
Arizona - 1.) Latin - areo - to be dry and zona - belt of earth - refers to the geographical distribution
                2.) arizonac - place of springs - American Indian word, refers to the Arizona region
elegans
- Latin - fine or elegant- refers to the color pattern
eburnata - Latin - made of ivory- refers to the pale color pattern

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

Related or Similar Neighboring California Snakes
A. e. candida - Mohave Glossy Snake
A. e. occidentalis - California Glossy Snake
P. decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
P. c. affinis - Sonoran Gophersnake
P. c. deserticola - Great Basin Gophersnake

More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife

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.

Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021.

Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.

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.

Taylor, Emily. California Snakes and How to Find Them. Heyday, Berkeley, California. 2024.

Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, 1957.

Joseph Grinnell and Charles Lewis Camp. A Distributional List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Publications in Zoology Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 127-208. July 11, 1917.

Conservation Status

The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the April 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the April 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists:
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals.

A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page.

If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings.

Check the current California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations to find out if this animal can be legally pursued and handled or collected with possession of a current fishing license. You can also look at the summary of the sport fishing regulations as they apply only to reptiles and amphibians that has been made for this website.

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  Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
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
IUCN

 

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