A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Western Glossy Snake - Arizona elegans

California Glossy Snake - Arizona elegans occidentalis

Blanchard, 1924

Click on a picture for a larger view

Description • Taxonomy • Species Description • Scientific Name • Alt. Names • Similar Herps • References • Conservation Status

Orange: Range of this subspecies in California
Arizona elegans occidentalis - California Glossy Snake

Range of other subspecies in California:

Red: Arizona elegans eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake

Purple: Arizona elegans candida - Mojave Glossy Snake

Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names

Adult, Alameda County

Adult, San Joaquin County
© Sam Murray

Adult, Anza, aprox. 3,900 ft,
Riverside County © Curtis Croulet

Adult, Alameda County © Gary Nafis Specimen Courtesy of Josh Shatsky

Adult, Alameda County. © Gary Nafis. Specimen Courtesy of Josh Shatsky

Adult, San Joaquin County
© Sam Murray

Adult, Alameda County. © Gary Nafis. Specimen courtesy of John Worden.

Adult, San Joaquin County
© Sam Murray

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, coastal San Diego County
© Jason Jones

Adult, Fresno County © Patrick Briggs

Adult, western Kern County
© Ryan Sikola

Adult, coastal Riverside County © Nathan Ray

Adult, coastal Riverside County © Nick Barrientos

Adult with high red coloring, San Diego County © Nathan Smith

Adult, Riverside County
© Brody Trent

Adult, about four feet in length,
San Joaquin County © Adam Gitmed

Adult from the eastern edge of Monterey County © Benjamin German

Adult, San Benito County © Neo S

Glossy Snakes, like this Alameda County adult, sometimes show iridescence on the underside.
© Richard Porter

Juveniles

Sub-adult, San Diego County

Juvenile, San Luis Obispo County © Ryan Sikola

Juvenile, Anza, aprox. 3,900 ft,
Riverside County © Curtis Croulet

Juvenile, San Joaquin County
© Sam Murray

Juvenile, Fresno County
© Bobby MacGregor

Juvenile, Orange County © Steve Bledsoe

Juvenile, Santa Barbara County
© Ryan Sikola

DOR Adult, Monterey County
© Benjamin German

Several juvenile glossy snakes found in close proximity in Stanislaus County
© Faris K

Juvenile, found in San Luis Obispo County in a new location
west of the Carrizo Plain © Ryan Singer

Snakes from areas near where two subspecies come into contact.
(Intergrades - or subspecies unknown)

Habitat

Habitat, Alameda County foothills

Habitat, San Diego County

Short Video

A California Glossy Snake crawls on a road at night, crossing paths with a potato bug.

Description

Not Dangerous - This snake does not have venom that can cause death or serious illness or injury in most humans.

Commonly described as "harmless" or "not poisonous" to indicate that its bite is not dangerous, but "not venomous" is more accurate. (A poisonous snake can hurt you if you eat it. A venomous snake can hurt you if it bites you.)

Length

Adults are 26-70 inches in length (66-178 cm). (Stebbins, 2003) Average length is 3 - 4 feet.

Appearance

A medium-sized muscular snake with smooth, glossy scales, a faded or bleached-out appearance, and a short tail.
Rostral scale (on the nose) is enlarged for digging (but not as much so as that of a patch-nosed snake or a leaf-nosed snake.)
Pupils are rounded.

Color and Pattern

Generally darker than other California Glossy snake subspecies - a tan or light brown ground color with dark brown blotches with dark edges on the back and sides and a pale, unmarked underside.
Dark line behind each eye and a dark line (a "unibrow") between the eyes.

An average of 63 narrow blotches on body.

Similar Snakes

Comparison of the 3 subspecies of Arizona elegans in California, along with sympatric species similar in appearance - Pituophis catenifer - Gopher Snake,
Trimorphodon biscutatus - Lyre Snake,
Hypsiglena - Night Snakes,
Coluber constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-Bellied Racer (juvenile).

Life History and Behavior

Activity

Nocturnal.
Hides underground in daytime under rocks, in exsisting burrows, or uses its specialized nose to make its own burrow.
Typically active from late February until November, depending on the weather. Most active in May. Less active during Summer.

Diet and Feeding

Preys mostly on sleeping diurnal lizards, but also eats small snakes, terrestrial birds, and nocturnally-active mammals.
Hunts active mammals at night by waiting in ambush.
Kills prey by direct swallowing or constriction.

Reproduction

Females are oviparous - laying from 3 - 23 eggs (more often 5-12) in June and July. (Stebbins, 2003)
Eggs most likely hatch in late summer and early fall. (Probably late September and October.)

Habitat

Inhabits arid scrub, rocky washes, grasslands, chaparral.
Appears to prefer microhabitats of open areas and areas with soil loose enough for easy burrowing.

Geographical Range

This subspecies, Arizona elegans occidentalis - California Glossy Snake, occurs from the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area south to northwestern Baja California. It is absent along the central coast. There are also old reports of this snake from the Santa Monica Mountains.

In July 2023, Benjamin German found a dor in Monterey County (shown above) which might be the first county record for the species.

The species Arizona elegans - Western Glossy Snake, has a very wide range, occurring through most of the southwest, and the southeastern part of the Midwest, and south into Mexico, including northern Baja California.

Elevational Range

The species is found from below sea level to around 7,218 ft. (2,200 m). (Stebbins, 2003)

Notes on Taxonomy

Collins elevated the western Glossy Snakes - A. e. occidentalis, A. e. eburnata, and A. e. candida - to specific status (Arizona occidentalis) (1991, Herp. Review 22:42-43) with the eastern Glossy Snakes remaining Arizona elegans, but this change has not been widely accepted.

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Arizona elegans occidentalis - California Glossy Snake (Stebbins 1966, 1985, 2003, 2012)
Arizona elegans occidentalis - Western Faded Snake (Faded Snake, California or Western Glossy Snake, Smooth-scaled Coluber, Smooth-scaled Gopher Snake) (Wright & Wright 1957)
Arizona elegans occidentalis (Blanchard, 1924, Klauber 1938)
Arizona elegans - Faded Snake (Rhinechis elegans; Coluber arizonae. Smooth-scaled Coluber) (Grinnell and Camp 1917)
Arizona elegans (Kennicott, 1859)

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

Designated a California Species of Special Concern

"The greatest threat to this subspecies is habitat modification due to agricultural, commercial, and residential development. However, the specific mechanisms that cause declines are not well understood."
(Robert C. Thomson, Amber N. Wright, and H. Bradley Shaffer. California Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern. University of California Press, 2016.)

Protected from take with a sport fishing license beginning in 2013 by a special closure:
"No glossy snakes (Arizona elegans) may be taken in the following counties: Alameda, Fresno, Imperial (west of Hwy 111), Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside (southwest of Hwy 111 and I-10), San Benito, San Bernardino (West of I-215 and Hwy 138), San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Tulare."

Taxonomy
Family	Colubridae	Colubrids	Oppel, 1811
Genus	Arizona	Glossy Snakes	Kennicott, 1859
Species	elegans	Western Glossy Snake	Kennicott, 1859
Subspecies	occidentalis	California Glossy Snake	Blanchard, 1924
Original description
Arizona elegans - Kennicott, 1859 - in Baird, U.S. Mex. Arizona elegans occidentalis - Blanchard, 1924 - Occ. Papers Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, No. 150, p. 1 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Arizona - 1.) Latin - areo - to be dry and zona - belt of earth - refers to the geographical distribution 2.) arizonac - place of springs - American Indian word, refers to the Arizona region elegans - Latin - fine or elegant- refers to the color pattern occidentalis - Latin - western - refers to its western distribution in the U.S. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Arizona occidentalis occidentalis
Related or Similar Neighboring California Snakes
A. e. candida - Mohave Glossy Snake A. e. eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake P. c. catenifer - Pacific Gophersnake P. c. annectens - San Diego Gophersnake
More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Hansen, Robert W. and Shedd, Jackson D. California Amphibians and Reptiles. (Princeton Field Guides.) Princeton University Press, 2025. Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012. Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972. Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021. Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018. Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998. Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Bartlett, R. D. & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000. Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997. Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003. Taylor, Emily. California Snakes and How to Find Them. Heyday, Berkeley, California. 2024. Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, 1957. Robert C. Thomson, Amber N. Wright, and H. Bradley Shaffer. California Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern. University of California Press, 2016. Joseph Grinnell and Charles Lewis Camp. A Distributional List of the Amphibians and Reptiles of California. University of California Publications in Zoology Vol. 17, No. 10, pp. 127-208. July 11, 1917.

Conservation Status
The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the April 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the April 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals. A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page. If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings. Check the current California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations to find out if this animal can be legally pursued and handled or collected with possession of a current fishing license. You can also look at the summary of the sport fishing regulations as they apply only to reptiles and amphibians that has been made for this website. Protected from take with a sport fishing license beginning in 2013 by a special closure in counties where the subspecies would be found: No glossy snakes (Arizona elegans) may be taken in the following counties: Alameda, Fresno, Imperial (west of Hwy 111), Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside (southwest of Hwy 111 and I-10), San Benito, San Bernardino (West of I-215 and Hwy 138), San Diego, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Tulare.
Organization	Status Listing	Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking	G5T2	The species is Secure This subspecies is Imperiled
NatureServe State Ranking	S2	Imperiled
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	SSC	Species of Special Concern
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
IUCN	None

Return to the Top