Pacific gopher snake

Pacific gopher snake
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pituophis
Species:	P. catenifer
Subspecies:	P. c. catenifer
Trinomial name
Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Blainville, 1835)
Synonyms
Coluber catenifer Blainville, 1835 Pituophis catenifer — Baird & Girard, 1853 Pityophis catenifer — Cope, 1900 Pituophis catenifer catenifer — Stejneger & Barbour, 1917

Pituophis catenifer catenifer is a subspecies of large non-venomous colubrid snake native to the western coast of North America. Pacific gopher snakes are one of California's most common snake species. They often get confused for rattlesnakes because they mimic similar patterns and defense mechanisms. As a result, gopher snakes can often avoid confrontation without needing to rely on their non-venomous nature for survival.

Description

The size of this juvenile Pacific gopher snake is shown by comparison with the hands holding it

Pacific gopher snake Adults range in size from 3–7 feet (91–213  centimeters) in total length. However, most of the subspecies reach a length of 4–5 feet (122–152 cm). The hatchlings are relatively long, and they have been recorded at lengths upward of 20 inches (51 cm).[2][3]

The Pacific gopher snake has a base color ranging from yellow to dark brown and has a gray coloring on the sides of the body. It is a spotted snake, with the spots being dark brown. Usually there are 41 to 99 spots on the body, while the tail spots range from 14 to 33. The side of the body has 2 or 3 rows of alternating black and brown spots.[4]

A snake with keeled scales, and a narrow head that is wider than the neck, the Pacific gopher snake also displays a protruding rostral scale on the tip of the snout. The two most common base colors are straw and straw gray, though the species' color varies widely.[2] The dorsal blotches, or saddles, are well-defined and generally dark to chocolate brown, though some specimens have had black blotches.[2][3] The side blotches are often brown or gray. The back of the neck is dark brown.[3] In many areas, such as Solano County, California, the snake can be found in a striped morph.[5]

The ventral side may be cream-colored to yellowish with dark spots. On the dorsal side, especially near the tail, there is often a reddish coloration.

Identification

As aforementioned, there are two to three rows of spots on the side of the Pacific gopher snake. However, the San Diego gopher snake (P. c. annectens) has 3 to 4rows of smaller spots on its side. The Pacific gopher snake's saddle spots do not have the barren characteristic as those of the San Diego gopher snakes do. Also, the spots in the second row of spots are much larger on P. c. catenifer as compared to P. c. annectens. Finally, the Pacific gopher snake generally has more saddle spots than the San Diego gopher snake.[6]

Feeding behavior

The diet of pacific gopher snakes mainly consists of small rodents.  They also consume birds, bird eggs, lizards, and occasionally insects or bats, depending on what is available in its habitat.  The Pacific gopher snake is diurnal,  hunting for prey during the day, however, it is sometimes seen out hunting in night time. It may also exhibit nocturnal behavior in warmer conditions. To hunt, they will enter underground burrows, perch on sites during the day, or strike unsuspecting prey resting at night, ultimately using constriction to immobilize and kill their prey. Its preference for agricultural fields and open spaces makes it an important natural pest controller in its ecosystem, helping manage rodent populations.

Social behavior

Like other gopher snakes, the Pacific gopher snake can produce a loud hiss when agitated or fearful.[3] When threatened, this species will inflate its body, flatten its head, and vigorously shake its tail, which may produce a rattling sound if done in dry vegetation.[2][3] However, gopher snakes are non venomous, generally good natured, and not harmful to humans.[3]

Pacific gopher snakes are typically non-social with other snakes, but will share communal hibernacula with other snakes during the winter.

Predators

Foxes, badgers, red- tailed hawks, and coyotes are the typical predators of gopher snakes, as well as larger king snakes due to their urge to gain dominance against other snakes. Due to the color of their skin pattern, gopher snakes can only camouflage to so many things such as gardens and rocks, and therefore tend to expose themselves often as an easy target for their predators. Especially for hawks to snatch them in the open. However, gopher snakes have great defense techniques against their predators in which they benefit from mimicking other venomous or dominant snakes such as vipers and rattlesnakes, and are successful due to their similar features that throws off the predator. These techniques consist of a viper's strike pose and a rattlesnake's tail shake that prevent predators from wanting to approach a venomous snake.

Prey like gopher snakes against their predators do not always create a disadvantage for them. For example, other raptor predators help maintain the population of the gopher snake's prey, and vice versa. Therefore, it is important to monitor human activities that impact the population of these snakes and predators, as gopher snakes are important aspects to the ecosystem and their predators help stabilize the overall animal food chain.

Activity patterns

Pacific gopher snakes prefer warmer temperatures, ideally around 75 to 90° Fahrenheit, and drier habitats such as meadows, fields and agricultural farmlands. They are seldom found in dense forests or cold environments. To maintain warm internal temperatures, Pacific gopher snakes will often bask in sunlight on rocks. When temperatures heat up beyond the Pacific gopher snake's tolerance, they will seek cooler temperatures in burrows, leaf litter, shade, under rocks, or swim in small bodies of water. They will undergo periods of inactivity in the winter from the months of Late November to March, often residing in abandoned burrows left by other animals.

Life expectancy

The Pacific gopher snake is observed to live 12 to 15 years in the wild. The oldest known individual lived over 33 years in captivity.

Reproductive behavior

Pacific gopher snakes are an oviparous species whose males begin competing for the opportunity to mate with females  from June to August. This competition involves aggressive behaviors such as biting, hissing, and attempting to pin one another to the ground. When a female finally successfully mates, she spends up to six weeks locating and preparing an ideal nesting site. These snakes often choose to nest communally, with multiple females laying their eggs in the same location and in some cases a single nest site can contain as many as 50 eggs, providing a shared space for incubation and eventual hatching which typically takes about 2 to 2.5 months.[3]

In captive breeding, the snake goes through a winter brumation period to improve breeding success. The clutches average 12–14 eggs and hatch in the same time period as in the wild.[2]

Geographic range

The Pacific gopher snake occupies a vast range up and down the West Coast of the United States,[2] ending in the southern coast of California.[3] These snakes can be found in habitats varying from covered woodland to arid deserts but prefer open prairies or grassy meadows. Gopher snakes are rarely seen above 2,000 feet (610 meters), except East from the Mississippi at an altitude of up to 2700 ft, and are most commonly seen adjacent to farms in semi-arid brushy areas. The Pacific gopher snake can also be found in southern British Columbia and Alberta, and in Mexico.[6]

Conservation status

The Pacific gopher snake is considered to be a species of least concern in terms of conservation. This species is considered a non-threat to society because they are non-venomous and harmless. Gopher snakes create an advantage in maintaining the health of the environment and the population of small mammals like rodents for other predators, and therefore explains why their species remains of least concern. Although their population is generally stable, they still face concerns such as habitat loss, human encroachment, and persecution due to being commonly mistaken as a venomous rattlesnake. Other threats such as human activities that lead to unintentional killings play a role in the impact of the gopher snake's conservation. For example, road traffic is a common threat due to the species being naturally slow and their habit of laying on roads with sun to keep them warm that leads to a variety of roadkills from that population. Consequently, the frequency of road traffic increases the road mortality.

Subspecies

These six subspecies belong to the species Pituophis catenifer catenifer:

• Pituophis catenifer affinis (Hallowell, 1852)
  • Commonly known as Sonoran gopher snake
  • Adults average 127–183 cm (4.17–6.00 ft) in total length
  • Found in central Texas across to Arizona, California and North parts of Mexico
  • Fairly aggressive but can be tamed
  • Have tough and hard skin on their noses as they use them to dig gopher holes and hibernate during winter ⁸
• Pituophis catenifer annectens (Baird & Girard, 1853)
  • Commonly known as San Diego Gopher Snake
  • 1.22–1.52 m (4–5 ft) with a small head and narrow snout
  • Native to California and more specifically observed in the southern parts from San Luis Obispo to San Diego
  • Found in tall grass, hiding under logs, and in the burrows of their prey ⁹
• Pituophis catenifer deserticola (Stejneger, 1893)
  • Commonly known as Great Basin Gopher Snake
  • One of the most spotted snakes in the daytime in Nevada
  • Spend a lot of their time in burrows or sheltered under rocks in crevices
  • They eat small mammals, birds, bird eggs, lizards and other snakes ¹⁰
• Pituophis catenifer fulginatus (Klauber, 1946)
  • Commonly known as the San Marin Gopher Snake
• Pituophis catenifer pumilis (Klauber, 1946)
  • Commonly known as the Santa Cruz Island Gopher Snake
  • The name “pumilis” is the Latin word for dwarf as this snake rarely exceeds 3 ft and is one of the smallest subspecies of the Gopher snakes
  • When threatened, Santa Cruz Island Gopher Snakes elevate and inflate their bodies. They also flatten their heads into a triangular form, hiss, and quickly shake their tails making a rattle shake sound
  • Found on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands 11
• Pituophis catenifer sayi (Schlegel, 1837)
  • Commonly known as Bull Snake
  • Heavy bodied snake that ranges from 37-72 inches in length
  • Consumes small mammals such as mice, voles and rabbits
  • Usually yellow with white, brown, black or reddish blotching ¹²

References

1. Hiatt, S. 1998. "The Pituophis Page" (On-line). Accessed November 8, 2007 at http://www.kingsnake.com/pituophis/care_group7.html.
2. Nafis, Gary. “Gopher Snake (U.S. National Park Service).” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/000/gopher-snake.htm. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
3. “Pacific Gopher Snake.” Oakland Zoo | Pacific Gopher Snake, www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/pacific-gopher-snake. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
4. Rodriguez, Javier A. “Feeding Ecology of North American Gopher Snakes (Pituophis Catenifer, Colubridae).” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 4 Oct. 2002, academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/77/2/165/2639668.
5. “Pacific Gopher Snake.” Pacific Gopher Snake | Sacramento Zoo, www.saczoo.org/pacific-gopher-snake. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
6. RodrÍguez-Robles, Javier A. “Home Ranges of Gopher Snakes (Pituophis Catenifer, Colubridae) in Central California.” BioOne Complete, The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-2003/issue-2/0045-8511(2003)003%5b0391%3aHROGSP%5d2.0.CO%3b2/Home-Ranges-of-Gopher-Snakes-Pituophis-catenifer-Colubridae-in-Central/10.1643/0045-8511(2003)003[0391:HROGSP]2.0.CO;2.short. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
7. “Snakes.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/cabr/learn/nature/snakes.htm. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
8. Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM. “Pituophis Catenifer Affinis.” Pituophis Catenifer Affinis - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.Bio, animalia.bio/pituophis-catenifer-affinis. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
9. “San Diego Gopher Snake (Reptiles and Amphibians of Coal Oil Point Reserve) · INATURALIST.” iNaturalist, www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1719068. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.
10. “Great Basin Gopher Snake.” NDOW, 16 June 2022, www.ndow.org/species/great-basin-gopher-snake/.
11. “Santa Cruz Island Gopher Snake (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/places/santa-cruz-island-gopher-snake.htm. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

“Bull Snake (Pituophis Catenifer Sayi).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/bull-snake.htm. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

External links

• Species Pituophis catenifer at The Reptile Database