A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake - Phyllorhynchus decurtatus

(Cope, 1868)

Click on a picture for a larger view

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

Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake California Range Map

Red: Range in California

Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names

Baja California Page

Juvenile, Imperial County

Adult, Inyo County

Adult, Inyo County © Grigory Heaton

Adult, Inyo County

Adult, San Bernardino County

Adult with peach coloring, San Diego County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, Imperial County

Adult, Kern County © Ryan Sikola

Adult, Imperial County

Adult, San Bernardino County
© Alexandra Hicks

Adult, Riverside County

This aberrantly-patterned Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake was found in Imperial County. The dark saddles normally present on the dorsal surface are extended lengthwise almost into stripes.
© Stuart Young

Note how dark the nose is on this snake from dark lava habitat in San Bernardino County. © Ryan Sikola

Adult, Inyo County

Adult, San Diego County © Jason Jones

Adult, Riverside County, © Patrick Briggs

Juveniles

Pale juvenile, Imperial County

Habitat

Habitat, San Diego County desert

Habitat, Riverside County desert

Habitat, San Diego County desert

Habitat, riparian canyon,
Riverside County

Habitat, Inyo County desert

Habitat, San Bernardino County

Short Videos

A leaf-nosed snake craws across the desert floor.

As shown here, this snake is typically found on a paved desert road at night. Using a serpentine motion, it is capable of moving quickly over the asphalt.

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.)

Size

12 - 20 inches long (30 - 51 cm.)

Appearance

A small pale snake with dark blotches, smooth scales and a blunt snout.
The rostral scale over the nose is enlarged and raised above the level of the other scales, giving this snake its name, as the scale looks like part of a leaf folded over the nose.

Color and Pattern

The ground color is pale tan, pink, or greyish with brown blotches on the back from the back of the head to the tail.
The underside is white and unmarked.
Pupils are vertical.
Some males may have weekly keeled scales.

Life History and Behavior

Activity

Active at night.
The enlarged rostral scale may help this snake burrow through sand in search of prey.
When threatened, may draw back and strike.
Secretive - at one time thought to be very rare, until Laurence Klauber discovered that they were common after finding them on paved desert roads at night in 1922.

Diet and Feeding

Small lizards, especially banded geckos, and lizard eggs.

Reproduction

Females are oviparous, laying eggs, probably from June - July.

Habitat

Sandy or gravelly deserts - open flats, washes, alluvial fans, foothills. Creosote bush is typically present. From below sea level in the Imperial Valley to about 4,000 ft. (1,200 m.)

Geographical Range

Occurs from Inyo County south through the Mojave and Colorado deserts up to the desert base of the mountain ranges. Ranges east into Nevada and the southwest edge of Utah, south to the Baja California cape region, and through western Arizona south along the western coast of Mexico.

Notes on Taxonomy

McDiarmid and McCleary (1993, Cat. Am. Amphib. Rept.:579.1-5) and Gardner and Mendelsoh (2004, J. Herpetology 28: 187-196) determined that no subspecies of Phyllorhynchus decurtatus should be recognized.

Previously, several subspecies of Phyllorhynchus decurtatus were recognized, including

P. d. perkinsi - Western Leaf-nosed Snake
P. d. nubilis - Clouded Leaf-nosed Snake
P. d. decurtatus - Baja California Leaf-nosed Snake

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake (Stebbins 2003, 2012)
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus perkensi - Western Leaf-nosed Snake (Stebbins 1954, 1966, 1985)
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus perkensi - Western Leaf-nosed Snake.(Klauber 1935)
Desert leaf-nosed snake; Leaf-nosed snake

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None

Taxonomy
Family	Colubridae	Colubrids	Oppel, 1811
Genus	Phyllorhynchus	Leaf-nosed Snakes	Stejneger, 1890
Species	decurtatus	Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake	(Cope, 1868)
Original Description
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus - (Cope, 1868) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 20, p. 310 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Phyllorhynchus - Greek - phyllon - leaf and rhunkos - beak or snout - refers to the nose shield which "resembles a thick leaf" decurtatus - bbb from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Related or Similar Neighboring California Snakes
H. t. deserticola - Desert Nightsnake A. e. eburnata - Desert Glossy Snake
More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife 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.

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. This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization	Status Listing	Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
IUCN

Return to the Top