Pacific Gopher Snake
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer) is a species
of large colubrid
snake
native to the western coast of the United States
.
The Pacific Gopher Snake adults range in size from 2.5-7 feet (76-213 cm). However, most of the subspecies reach a length of 4.5-5 feet (137-152 cm). The hatchling
s are relatively long, and they have been recorded at lengths upward of 20 inches (51cm).
The Pacific Gopher Snake has a base color ranging from yellow to dark brown and has a grey coloring on the sides of the body. It is a spotted snake, with the spots being dark brown. Usually there are 41 to 99 spots on the body, while the tail spots range from 14 to 33 spots. The side of the body shows 2 or 3 rows of alternating rows of black and brown spots.
A snake with keeled scales
, and a narrow head that is wider than the neck, the Pacific Gopher Snake also displays a protruding rostral scale on the tip of the snout
. The two most common base colors are straw and straw grey, though the species' color varies widely. The dorsal blotches, or saddles, are well-defined and generally dark to chocolate brown, though some specimens have had black blotches. The side blotches are often brown or grey. The back of the neck is dark brown. In many areas, such as Solano County, California, the snake can be found in a striped morph
.
The ventral side may be cream-colored to yellowish with dark spots. On the dorsal
side, especially near the tail, there is often a reddish coloration.
, though sometimes active at dusk and nocturnal
during warm weather. They prefer drier habitats
such as meadow
s, fields
and agricultural
farmland
, and are seldom found in dense forest
s.
Like other gopher snakes, the Pacific gopher can produce a loud hiss when agitated or fearful. When threatened, this species will inflate its body, flatten its head, and vigorously shake its tail, which may produce a rattling sound if done in dry vegetation. However, Gopher snakes are generally good natured.
The Pacific Gopher Snake is a carnivore. Their diet
consists of small mammal
s, notably pocket gopher
s; bird
s and their eggs
; the occasional lizard
and insect
, and even bats. It is reputed to sometimes consume rattlesnake
s.
In captive breeding
, the snake goes through a winter brumation period to improve breeding success. The clutches
average 12-14 eggs and hatch in the same time period as in the wild.
of the United States, its range ending in the southern coast of California
. Gopher snakes are rarely seen above 2000 feet and are most commonly seen adjacent to farms in semi-arid brushy areas. The Pacific Gopher Snake can also be found in southern British Columbia and Alberta all the way down to Mexico.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of large colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
native to the western coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Description
Hatchling
In oviparous biology, a hatchling is the newborn of animals that develop and emerge from within hard-shell eggs. The offspring of birds are often hatched naked and with their eyes closed. The hatchling relies totally on its parents for feeding and warmth. Hatchlings precede nestlings in the chick's...
s are relatively long, and they have been recorded at lengths upward of 20 inches (51cm).
The Pacific Gopher Snake has a base color ranging from yellow to dark brown and has a grey coloring on the sides of the body. It is a spotted snake, with the spots being dark brown. Usually there are 41 to 99 spots on the body, while the tail spots range from 14 to 33 spots. The side of the body shows 2 or 3 rows of alternating rows of black and brown spots.
A snake with keeled scales
Keeled scales
Keeled scales refer to reptile scales that, rather than being smooth, have a ridge down the center that may or may not extend to the tip of the scale, making them rough to the touch...
, and a narrow head that is wider than the neck, the Pacific Gopher Snake also displays a protruding rostral scale on the tip of the snout
Snout
The snout, or muzzle, is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.-Terminology:The term "muzzle", used as a noun, can be ambiguous...
. The two most common base colors are straw and straw grey, though the species' color varies widely. The dorsal blotches, or saddles, are well-defined and generally dark to chocolate brown, though some specimens have had black blotches. The side blotches are often brown or grey. The back of the neck is dark brown. In many areas, such as Solano County, California, the snake can be found in a striped morph
Morph
- Astronomy :* Morphs collaboration, a collaboration that studied the evolution of spiral galaxies using the Magellan and the Hubble Space Telescope- Biology :...
.
The ventral side may be cream-colored to yellowish with dark spots. On the dorsal
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
side, especially near the tail, there is often a reddish coloration.
Identification
As aforementioned, there are 2 to 3 rows of spots on the side of the Pacific Gopher Snake. However, the San Diego Gopher Snake (P. c. annectens) has 3 to 4 rows of smaller spots on their sides. The Pacific Gopher Snake's saddle spots do not have the barren characteristic as the San Diego Gopher Snakes do. Also, the second row of spots are much larger on P.c. catenifer compared to P.c. annectens. Finally, the Pacific Gopher Snake generally has more saddle spots than the San Diego Gopher Snake.Behavior
The snake is diurnalDiurnal animal
Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...
, though sometimes active at dusk and nocturnal
Nocturnal animal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....
during warm weather. They prefer drier habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
such as meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
s, fields
Field (agriculture)
In agriculture, the word field refers generally to an area of land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as:* Cultivating crops* Usage as a paddock or, generally, an enclosure of livestock...
and agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
farmland
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
, and are seldom found in dense forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s.
Like other gopher snakes, the Pacific gopher can produce a loud hiss when agitated or fearful. When threatened, this species will inflate its body, flatten its head, and vigorously shake its tail, which may produce a rattling sound if done in dry vegetation. However, Gopher snakes are generally good natured.
The Pacific Gopher Snake is a carnivore. Their diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
consists of small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, notably pocket gopher
Pocket gopher
The pocket gophers are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. These are the "true" gophers, though several ground squirrels of the family Sciuridae are often called gophers as well...
s; bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and their eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
; the occasional lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
, and even bats. It is reputed to sometimes consume rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
s.
Reproduction
They are an oviparous species in which eggs are laid from June to August and hatch in 2 to 2.5 months.In captive breeding
Captive breeding
Captive breedingis the process of breeding animals in human controlled environments with restricted settings, such as wildlife reserves, zoos and other conservation facilities; sometimes the process is construed to include release of individual organisms to the wild, when there is sufficient...
, the snake goes through a winter brumation period to improve breeding success. The clutches
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
average 12-14 eggs and hatch in the same time period as in the wild.
Geographic range
The Pacific Gopher Snake ranges up and down the West CoastWest Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
of the United States, its range ending in the southern coast of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Gopher snakes are rarely seen above 2000 feet and are most commonly seen adjacent to farms in semi-arid brushy areas. The Pacific Gopher Snake can also be found in southern British Columbia and Alberta all the way down to Mexico.