Description: The long-nosed snake is distinguished by a long, slightly upturned snout, which is the origin of its common name. It is tricolor, vaguely resembling a coral snake, with black and red saddling on a yellow or cream-colored background. Cream-colored spots within the black saddles are a distinct characteristic of the long-nosed snake. It differs from all other harmless snakes in the United States by having undivided subcaudal scales. The total length (including tail) of adults is usually 22 to 32 inches, but the maximum record total length is 41 inches.

Habitat: The preferred natural habitats of the long-nosed snake are desert, grassland, shrubland, and savanna.

Range: R. lecontei is found in northern Mexico from San Luis Potosí to Chihuahua, and into the southwestern United States, in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Found in these States: AZ | CA | CO | ID | KS | NM | NV | OK | OR | TX | UT

Diet: The long-nosed snake feeds on lizards, amphibians, and sometimes smaller snakes and infrequently rodents.

Reproduction: R. lecontei is oviparous, laying clutches of 4 to 9 eggs in the early summer, which hatch in the late summer or early fall.

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: