Nearctica - Natural History - Snakes of North America - Western Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis)

Western Shovel-nosed Snake

(Chionactis occipitalis)

Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Chionactis palarostris

The red and black bands on the Sonoran Shovel-nosed Snake are typically wider than those of the Western Shovel-nosed Snake and adults have fewer than 21 black bands. In contrast the dark bands of the Western Shovel-nosed Snake are typically narrower and the body has more than 21 bands.

Chilomeniscus cinctus

The Banded Sand Snake is a smaller species (7 to 10 inches in length). In addition the rostral scale separates the internasals scales in the Banded Sand Snake.

Sonora semiannulata

The Ground Snake is extremely variable in dorsal coloration. However the body scales of the Ground Snake all have a dark blotch or bar at the anterior margin of the scale.

Western Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis)

Identification: Length 10 to 17 inches. A colorful, banded snake with a wedge-shaped snout. Snout flat on upper surface. Ground color yellow to white. Bands relatively narrow. Black bands almost completely circle the body, usually 21 or more in number. Red saddles may be present between the black bands. Dorsal scales usually in 15 rows. Internasal scales not separated by the rostral.

Geographical Variation:

Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake (C. o. occipitalis): Bands brown, not black; red bands absent; no secondary bands between the primary bands; more than 45 primary bands present. Range: Mojave Desert region of western California, extreme southern Nevada, and west-central Arizona.

Colorado Desert Shovel-nosed Snake (C. o. annulata): Primary bands black and typically fewer than 45 in number; narrow red saddles present. Range: Southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and northward into northern Mexico.

Tucson Shovel-nosed Snake (C. o. klauberi): Secondary black or brown bands present between the primary bands. Range: South-central Arizona.

Nevada Shovel-nosed Snake (C. o. talpina): Nearly identical to the Tucson Shovel-nosed Snake except for differences in the number of ventral scales. Range: Limited to west-central Nevada and eastern California north of the range of the Mojave Shovel-nosed Snake.

Range (see map on left): A southwestern species ranging from southern Nevada in the north southward to northern Mexico. The species occurs in southern and western Arizona stretching westward to southeastern California.

Habitat: The Western Shovel-nosed snake is a denizen on the drier portions of the Sonoran and Mohave Deserts. It prefers areas with sand and loose dirt, or gullies with sandy bottoms.

Food: This species eats a wide variety of insects, scorpions, centipedes, and other desert invertebrates.

Behavior: The Western Shovel-nosed Snake is nocturnal and spends most of the day underground. The species swims across the surface of sand and loose dirt leaving serpentine wave marks in the ground.

Reproduction: The clutch size consists of 2 to 4 eggs laid in the summer.

Western Shovel-nosed Snake
(Chionactis occipitalis)

Similar Species:

Sonoran Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis palarostris)

Banded Sand Snake (Chilomeniscus cinctus)

Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)

Similar Species