Pacific gopher snake | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Pituophis |
Species: | P. catenifer |
Binomial name | |
Pituophis catenifer (Blainville, 1835) | |
Synonyms | |
Pituophis catenifer is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to North America. Nine subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies, Pituophis catenifer catenifer, described here. [6] This snake is often mistaken for the prairie rattlesnake, but can be easily distinguished from a rattlesnake by the lack of black and white banding on its tail and by the shape of its head, which is narrower than a rattlesnake's.
The specific name, catenifer, is Latin for "chain-bearing", referring to the dorsal color pattern.
Adults are 36-84 in (91–213 cm) in length. [5] Dorsally, they are yellowish or pale brown, with a series of large, dark brown or black blotches, and smaller, dark spots on the sides. Ventrally, they are yellowish, either uniform or with brown markings. [2] They also come in several morphs depending on the subspecies.[ citation needed ]
The gopher snake has a unique defensive mechanism, in which it puffs up its body and curls itself into the classic strike pose of a rattlesnake. However, rather than delivering an open-mouthed strike, the gopher snake often strikes with a closed mouth, using its blunt nose to warn off possible predators. Additionally, gopher snakes vibrate their tails in a manner similar to rattlesnakes. One paper found that gopher snakes on islands lacking rattlesnakes vibrate their tails for shorter amounts of time than gopher snakes in mainland California, which is home to numerous rattlesnake species. [7] This suggests that gopher snake tail vibration may in fact be rattlesnake mimicry since the behavior appears to be breaking down in areas without rattlesnakes, perhaps because predators on these islands have no reason to evolve to avoid tail-vibrating snakes (rattlesnakes are venomous, gopher snakes are not).
Wild gopher snakes typically live 12 to 15 years, but the oldest captive recorded lived over 33 years. [8]
Common names for this species, or its several subspecies, are: Pacific gopher snake, Henry snake, coast gopher snake, bullsnake, Churchill's bullsnake, Oregon bullsnake, Pacific pine snake, western bullsnake, western gopher snake, Sonoran gopher snake, western pine snake, great basin gopher snake, blow snake, and yellow gopher snake. [5]
As of 2022, there is largely agreement on the recognition of six subspecies occurring in Canada, USA, and mainland Mexico. However, there is not agreement among taxonomist on status of populations from Baja California and adjacent islands. The Cape gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer vertebralis) and Central Baja California gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer bimaris) are recognized by some as single species with no subspecies Pituophis vertebralis, or as a species with two subspecies Pituophis v. vertebralis and P. v. bimaris by others. Other subspecies including the Coronado Island gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer coronalis) and San Martin Island gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer fulginatus) are of questionable validity. [4] [9]
Standardized English name, subspecies, and author [10] [11] [12] [13] | Geographic range |
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Sonoran gophersnake P. c. affinis Hallowell, 1852 | Southwest USA including extreme southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico, Trans-Pecos Texas, and northwest Mexico including extreme northeast Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, northwest Nuevo León, Sinaloa, eastern Durango, north Zacatecas, and extreme west San Luis Potosi (Chihuahuan Desert and Sonora Desert). [9] [14] |
San Diego gophersnake | Southwest California and northwest Baja California [9] |
Pacific gophersnake P. c. catenifer (Blainville, 1835) | The United States, from Oregon west of the Cascade Range, south into California, west of the Sierra Nevada to northern Santa Barbara County and the Tehachapi Mountains. [5] |
Great Basin gophersnake P. c. deserticola Stejneger, 1893 | South-central British Columbia, Canada, east Washington, east Oregon, southwest Idaho, southwest Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, west Colorado, parts of southeast California, northern Arizona and extreme northwest New Mexico (Great Basin and Mojave Desert) [9] |
San Martin Island gophersnake P. c. fulginatus Klauber, 1946 | San Martin Island, Baja California |
Santa Cruz Island gophersnake P. c. pumilis Klauber, 1946 | Santa Cruz Island, Santa Rosa Island, and San Miguel Island, California [9] |
Bullsnake P. c. sayi (Schlegel, 1837) | Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, central USA including east Colorado, Illinois, extreme northwest Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, east New Mexico, southwest North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, southwest Wisconsin, east Wyoming, and northern Mexico including northeast Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, extreme southeast San Luis Potosi, and extreme northern Veracruz (Great Plains and Midwestern United States). [9] |
Kingsnakes are colubrid New World members of the genus Lampropeltis, which includes 26 species. Among these, about 45 subspecies are recognized. They are nonvenomous and ophiophagous in diet.
Pituophis is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes, which are endemic to North America.
Pituophis catenifer affinis, commonly known as the Sonoran gopher snake, is a nonvenomous subspecies of colubrid snake that is endemic to the southwestern United States. It is one of six recognized subspecies of the gopher snake, Pituophis catenifer.
The eastern racer, or North American racer, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America and Central America. Eleven subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized, which as a group are commonly referred to as the eastern racers. The species is monotypic in the genus Coluber.
The Cape gopher snake or Baja gopher snake is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to extreme southern Baja California Sur, Mexico. They have become increasingly popular companions for people interested in the exotic pet trade, due to their extreme color variations and relatively docile behavior. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of Pituophis catenifer. There has been controversy whether the Baja Gopher Snake is a lower classification of the Cape Gopher Snake. Some say the Baja Gopher Snake should be in a separate sub-species of Pituophis Vertebralis Bimaris, while Cape Gopher Snakes should remain Pituophis Vertebralis Vertebralis. Many people mistake the two as the same sub species and have cased some cross-breeding between the two. In captivity the bloodlines are nearly all related and breeding has become especially difficult in terms of keeping the bloodlines alive.
Pituophis melanoleucus, commonly known as the eastern pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.
The striped whipsnake is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. It is closely related to the California whipsnake. The striped whipsnake is native to the western United States and adjacent northern Mexico.
The Pacific gopher snake is a subspecies of large non-venomous colubrid snake native to the western coast of North America.
Pituophis catenifer deserticola, commonly known by its standardized English name since the 1950s, the Great Basin gophersnake, is a subspecies of nonvenomous colubrid snake ranging in parts of western United States and adjacent southwestern Canada.
The bullsnake is a large, nonvenomous, colubrid snake. It is a subspecies of the gopher snake. The bullsnake is one of the largest/longest snakes of North America and the United States, reaching lengths up to 8 ft.
Wyoming is home to 12 amphibian species and 22 species of reptiles.
Lampropeltini is a tribe of colubrid snake endemic to the New World. These include the kingsnakes, milk snake, corn snake, gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes. At least 51 species have been recognized and the group have been heavily studied for biogeography, morphology, ecology, and phylogenetics. The internal relationships among the genera has been disputed, but generally the most supported placement of the genera are as follows:
Pituophis deppei, commonly known as the Mexican bullsnake and the Mexican pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.
Pituophis lineaticollis, commonly known as the Middle American gopher snake or the cincuate bull snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. There are two recognized subspecies.
Data related to Pituophis catenifer at Wikispecies