Description: Nightsnakes resemble western rattlesnakes, but do not have a rattle or a “button” (single rattle) on the tail like a rattlesnake. The nighsnake is a small (less than 18 inches in total length), spotted snake with a small head and mouth. They have dark brown blotches in the neck region, smooth scales, and vertical pupils. This species has a dark eye stripe from the nostril to the jaw. The upper labial scales are white speckled with brown. The ventral (underside) scales have a “pearly” white sheen and no markings.
The nightsnake’s fangs are in the back of the mouth (“rear-fanged”) and the venom is “chewed” into the wound of their prey. This is unlike a rattlesnake that has long fangs at the front of the mouth that inject venom into prey.
Habitat: Found in a variety of habitats, often arid areas, from chaparral, Sagebrush flats, deserts, suburban lots and gardens, mountain meadows, grassland. Most commonly found in areas with abundant surface cover.
Range: The Northern Desert Nightsnake is found throughout southern California, north to San Luis Obispo County, east and north along the western Sierra Nevada mountains, and into the Great Basin desert in the far northeast part of California, including Lava Beds National Monument. There is also a record for Siskiyou county north of Yreka near the Oregon Border. Outside of California, it ranges south into Baja California, east throughout the southwest, and north into Washington.
Outside of Califorina, the species, Hypsiglena chlorophaea - Desert Nightsnake, occurs from British Columbia south through central Washington, eastern Oregon, southwest Idaho, Nevada, Utah, extreme western Colorado and New Mexico, into Arizona, Baja Califonria, And Sonora, Mexico.
Diet: Nightsnakes eat small lizards and smaller snakes, as well as lizard eggs, frogs, and other small prey.
Reproduction: Oviparous. After mating, females lay a clutch of 2-9 eggs from April to September. Eggs hatch in 50-65 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.
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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