Western ground snake

western ground snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Sonora
Species: S. semiannulata
Binomial name
Sonora semiannulata
Baird and Girard, 1853
Synonyms
  • Contia isozona Cope, 1866
  • Contia episcopa isozona - Cope,1880
  • Contia taylori Boulenger, 1894
  • Chionactis episcopus isozonus - Cope, 1900
  • Sonora miniata linearis Stickel, 1938

The western ground snake (Sonora semiannulata) is a species of small, harmless colubrid snake. It is sometimes referred to as the common ground snake or variable ground snake as its patterning and coloration can vary widely, even within the same geographic region.[1]

Contents

Geographic range

It is native to the southwestern United States, in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Utah and California, as well as northern Mexico, in Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Durango.

Description

Ground snakes can grow from 10 to 15 inches in length. Their colors and patterns can vary widely. They can be brown, red, or orange, with black banding, orange or brown striping, or be solid-colored. Their underside is typically white or grey. They have fairly smooth scales, a small head, and eyes with round pupils.

Habitat

Their preferred habitat is dry, rocky areas with loose soil.

Behavior

Ground snakes are typically nocturnal and secretive, but they are common throughout their range. They are often found on roadsides, or in dry drainage ditches at night, foraging for food.

Diet

Their diet consists primarily of invertebrates, such as spiders, scorpions, centipedes, crickets, and insect larvae.

Reproduction

They are oviparous, breeding and laying eggs through the summer months.

Taxonomy

Sonora semiannulata was once broken up into five separate subspecies, based on the vast differences in color and patterning that the species displays, but recent research has shown that the various colors and patterns of ground snake interbreed indiscriminantly, making distinction between them impossible and thus not warranting subspecies status, though some sources still refer to them - using geography as a basis rather than morphology.

References

  1. ^ Stebbins, Robert Cyril (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians (Peterson Field Guide). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 391-393. ISBN 0395982723. 

Additional Sources