Description: Adults can be 12 to 26 inches long. Most seen are 8 to 12 inches long, rarely over 16 inches. Size of Hypsiglena hatchlings is about 7 inches in length but some have been estimated to be as small as 5 inches long. A small slender snake with a narrow flat head, smooth scales in 21 rows, and vertical pupils. Color varies, often matching the substrate, from light gray, light brown, beige, to tan or cream, with dark brown or gray blotches on the back and sides. Usually a pair of large dark markings on the neck and a dark bar through or behind the eyes. Whitish or yellowish and unmarked underneath.
Habitat: This snake generally inhabits arid and semiarid plains, canyons, and hillsides, usually in rocky, dissected or hilly terrain with sandy or gravelly soils, including areas dominated by desert, grassland, shrubland, savanna, or woodland. Periods of inactivity are spend under rocks or other surface cover, in crevices, or underground. In Idaho, individuals can be found under surface rocks in spring, but generally not in summer.
Range: Range encompasses portions of western North America and extends from south-central British Columbia (Canada) south through Washington, Oregon, southern Idaho, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, northern, western, and much of southwestern Arizona (United States).
Venom: Nightsnakes, genus Hypsiglena, have mildly venomous saliva that is introduced into prey by the repeated chewing action of two enlarged teeth found at the rear of the mouth. The venom is not injected by fangs, it is introduced into the prey through small puncture wounds made by the enlarged teeth. The venom helps to incapacitate the small prey, but it is not considered harmful to humans. The small size of the snake's head, the location of the fangs, and the chewing action necessary to administer the venom, make it difficult for a nightsnake to envenomate anything but small animals.
Diet: Eats a wide range of terrestrial vertebrates, mostly lizards and their eggs, sometimes small snakes, frogs, and salamanders.
Reproduction: Oviparous. After mating, females lay a clutch of 2 to 9 eggs from April to September. Eggs hatch in 50 to 65 days. Hatchlings are about 7 inches in length.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the wide distribution, large number of locations, presumed large population, lack of major threats, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
Subspecies: Four, with 3 found in the United States: Sonoran Night Snake - (Hypsiglena chlorophaea chlorophaea) Northern Desert Night Snake - (Hypsiglena chlorophaea deserticola) Mesa Verde Night Snake - (Hypsiglena chlorophaea loreala)
Tiburón Nightsnake - (Hypsiglena chlorophaea tiburonensis)
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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