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Adult, Inyo County |
(underside) |
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Adult, Inyo County |
(underside) |
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Adult, Inyo County
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Adult, Pima County, Arizona |
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Habitat, Inyo County |
Short Video |
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A tiny black-headed snake crawls across a paved road at night.
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Description |
Mildly Venomous |
| This snake uses a mild form of venom to immobilize its prey. This venom is considered harmless to humans. |
| Size |
| One of the smallest snakes in California, about 4.5 - 15 inches long (11.5 - 38 cm). |
| Appearance |
| A small, thin, snake with a flat head and smooth, shiny scales. The top of the head is dark brown or black, with a light collar between the dark cap and the body color which is brownish or beige and unmarked. The dark color usually does not extend lower on the head than the bottom of the eye and does not extend below the mouthline behind the corner of the jaw. The belly is whitish with a reddish stripe that does not extend all the way to the edge of the ventral scales. This stripe may fade out toward the head. |
| Behavior |
| Secretive -spends much of its time underground or underneath surface objects. Not much is known about this snake. A good burrower, able to disappear quickly into loose soil. Typically it is found beneath surface debris. (I have also witnessed this snake active on the surface on a May morning in Texas.) |
| Diet |
| Millipedes, centipedes, and insects. |
| Reproduction |
| Not well understood. Lays eggs in summer. |
| Range |
| The known range of this snake in California and elsewhere is spotty due to its secretive nature. Its range is probably less disjointed than the records show. It has been recorded from the southern Sierra Nevada foothills and in the southern San Joaquin Valley, north up the Owens Valley area to the White Mountains, and south through the Death Valley region, with isolated locations in the eastern Mojave desert. Also occurs in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. |
| Habitat |
| Found in desert, grassland, sagebrush, creosote bush, chaparral, juniper scrub, open coniferous forests. Prefers canyon bottoms and the rocky edges of streams and washes. Often found beneath rocks, plant debris, and other surface cover. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Formerly classified with Tantilla planiceps. There are around 50 species of Tantilla from North America to Argentina, with two occuring in California, including T. planiceps. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Tantilla |
Black-headed Snakes |
Species
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hobartsmithi |
Smith's Black-headed Snake |
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Original Description |
Tantilla hobartsmithi - Taylor, "1936" 1937 - Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., Vol. 39, p. 340
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Tantilla - Latin - tantillum - so small a thing - refers to the small size
hobartsmithi - honors Smith, Hobart M.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Southwestern Black-headed Snake
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
T. planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake
H. t. nuchalata - California Nightsnake
H. t. deserticola - Desert Nightsnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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