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A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California


Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake - Phyllorhynchus decurtatus

(Cope, 1868)
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Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake California Range MapRed: Range in California


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Map with California County Names






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Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Juvenile, Imperial County
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Adult, Inyo County Adult, Inyo County © Grigory Heaton
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Adult, Inyo County
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Adult, San Bernardino County Adult with peach coloring, San Diego County
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Adult, San Diego County Adult, Imperial County Adult, Kern County © Ryan Sikola
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
  Adult, Imperial County   Adult, San Bernardino County
© Alexandra Hicks
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Adult, Riverside County
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
This aberrantly-patterned Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake was found in Imperial County. The dark saddles normally present on the dorsal surface are extended lengthwise almost into stripes.
© Stuart Young
Note how dark the nose is on this snake from dark lava habitat in San Bernardino County. © Ryan Sikola Adult, Inyo County
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake  
Adult, San Diego County © Jason Jones Adult, Riverside County, © Patrick Briggs  
       
Juveniles
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake      
Pale juvenile, Imperial County      
       
Habitat
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake 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, Riverside County desert
Habitat, San Diego County desert
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Habitat Mohave Glossy Snake Habitat Desert Tortoise Habitat  
Habitat, riparian canyon,
Riverside County
Habitat, Inyo County desert Habitat, San Bernardino County  
       
Short Videos
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake    
A leaf-nosed snake craws across the desert floor. As shown here, this snake is typically found on a paved desert road at night. Using a serpentine motion, it is capable of moving quickly over the asphalt.    
     
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.)

Size
12 - 20 inches long (30 - 51 cm.)

Appearance
A small pale snake with dark blotches, smooth scales and a blunt snout.
The rostral scale over the nose is enlarged and raised above the level of the other scales, giving this snake its name, as the scale looks like part of a leaf folded over the nose.
Color and Pattern
The ground color is pale tan, pink, or greyish with brown blotches on the back from the back of the head to the tail.
The underside is white and unmarked.
Pupils are vertical.
Some males may have weekly keeled scales.

Life History and Behavior

Activity
Active at night.
The enlarged rostral scale may help this snake burrow through sand in search of prey.
When threatened, may draw back and strike.
Secretive - at one time thought to be very rare, until Laurence Klauber discovered that they were common after finding them on paved desert roads at night in 1922.
Diet and Feeding
Small lizards, especially banded geckos, and lizard eggs.
Reproduction
Females are oviparous, laying eggs, probably from June - July.

Habitat
Sandy or gravelly deserts - open flats, washes, alluvial fans, foothills. Creosote bush is typically present. From below sea level in the Imperial Valley to about 4,000 ft. (1,200 m.)

Geographical Range
Occurs from Inyo County south through the Mojave and Colorado deserts up to the desert base of the mountain ranges. Ranges east into Nevada and the southwest edge of Utah, south to the Baja California cape region, and through western Arizona south along the western coast of Mexico.

Full Species Range Map
Notes on Taxonomy

McDiarmid and McCleary (1993, Cat. Am. Amphib. Rept.:579.1-5) and Gardner and Mendelsoh (2004, J. Herpetology 28: 187-196) determined that no subspecies of Phyllorhynchus decurtatus should be recognized.

Previously, several subspecies of Phyllorhynchus decurtatus were recognized, including

P. d. perkinsi
- Western Leaf-nosed Snake
P. d. nubilis
- Clouded Leaf-nosed Snake
P. d. decurtatus
- Baja California Leaf-nosed Snake


Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake (Stebbins 2003, 2012)
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus perkensi - Western Leaf-nosed Snake (Stebbins 1954, 1966, 1985)
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus perkensi - Western Leaf-nosed Snake.(Klauber 1935)
Desert leaf-nosed snake; Leaf-nosed snake

Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None
Taxonomy
Family Colubridae Colubrids Oppel, 1811
Genus Phyllorhynchus Leaf-nosed Snakes Stejneger, 1890
Species

decurtatus Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake (Cope, 1868)
Original Description
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - (Cope, 1868) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 20, p. 310

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

Meaning of the Scientific Name
Phyllorhynchus - Greek - phyllon - leaf and rhunkos - beak or snout - refers to the nose shield which "resembles a thick leaf"
decurtatus
- bbb

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

Related or Similar Neighboring California Snakes
H. t. deserticola - Desert Nightsnake
A. e. eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake

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.


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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