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Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)


Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)STATUS





Description: The western ground snake can grow to a total length (including tail) of 8 to 19 inches. The color and pattern can vary widely. Individuals can be brown, red, or orange, with black banding, orange or brown striping, or be solid-colored. The underside is typically white or gray. It has smooth dorsal scales, a small head, and the pupil of the eye is round.


Habitat: Inhabits areas with surface cover and some moisture: grassland, riverbottoms, desert flats, ranchland, sand hummocks, open rocky hillsides with loose soil, sandy washes, dry streambeds, and riparian thickets.


Range: S. semiannulata is native to the Southwestern United States, in Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon,[5] Texas, and Utah, as well as northern Mexico, in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, and Sonora.


Found in these States: AZ | CA | ID | NV | OR | UT


Diet: Eats small invertebrates, including spiders, scorpions, centipedes, crickets, and insect larvae.


Reproduction: Mating takes place in May and early June. Females are oviparous, laying eggs underground from late May to August. Females have been observed laying from 1 to 6 eggs. Incubation lasts about 60 days.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.


Taxonomy: On November 1, 2022 Sonora semiannulata was split into four distinct species. Sonora semiannulata, Sonora taylori, Sonora mosaueri, and Sonora episcopa.

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Sonora
                     »» Species: Sonora semiannulata - Ground Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Western ground snake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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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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