Glossy Snake

(Arizona elegans)
Subspecies: Kansas, Texas, Mojave, Desert, Arizona, California, Painted Desert

Description:

26-70" (66-178 cm). Resembles Gopher and Great Plains Rat snakes but has smooth glossy scales rather than keeled scales. Snout somewhat pointed; lower jaw inset. Variable number of black-edged tan, brown, or gray blotches mark cream, pinkish, or light-brown upper surfaces. Dark line runs from angle of jaw to eye. Belly unmarked. Scales in 25-35 row. Anal plate singal.

Breeding:

Mates in spring. Clutch of 3-23 eggs, about 2 3/8" (60 mm) long, is laid during the summer, hatches in 10-12 weeks.

Habitat:

Dry, open sandy areas, coastal chaparral, creosote-mesquite desert, sagebrush flats, and oak-hickory woodland; below sea level to 5,500' (1700 m).

Range:

Se. Texas and extreme sw. Nebraska west to central California, south into Mexico.

Subspecies:

Nine, poorly defferentiated, 7 in our range.

Kansas (A. e. elegans), 39-69 large dark body blothces, 29-31 scale rows; extreme sw. Nebraska south through w. Texas into Mexico.

Texas (A. e. arenicola), 41-58 body blotches, 29-35 scale rows; se. Texas.

Mojave (A. e. candida), 53-73 narrow body blotches, 27 or fewer scale rows; Death Valley area, s. Nevada south through w. Mojave Desert in California.

Desert (A. e. eburata), pale-colored with 53-83 narrow body blotches, 27 or fewer scale rows; extreme sw. Utah, s. Nevada south through center of Mojave Desert to Gulf of California.

Arizona (A. e. noctivaga), body blotches slightly wider than interspaces, 25-29 scale rows, s. and w. Arizona south to c. Sinaloa, Mexico.

California (A. e. occidentalis), dark with 51-75 dark brown blotches, 27 scale rows; San Joaquin Valley south into Baja California.

Painted Desert (A. e. philipi), usually less than 200 ventral scalesk, 53-80 body blotches, 27 scale rows; se. Utah, ne. and se. Arizona, w. New Mexico.

Occasionally called the faded snake because of its bleached appearance. It is a capable burrower and is usually seen on the surface in the early evening hours during the warmer months. It feeds chiefly on lizards and occasionally takes small mammmals. Captive longevity exceeds 12 years.

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