| Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
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 California glossy snake
Arizona elegans occidentalus |
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona elegans Kennicott, 1859 |
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| Synonyms | ||||||||||||||||||
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Coluber arizonae |
Arizona is a genus of small colubrid snakes commonly referred to as glossy snakes. The genus has only one officially recognized species, A. elegans and 7 subspecies, though in peer-reviewed taxonomic articles, recommendations have been made to grant A. elegans occidentalis full species status and many sources often refer to as such.
Species
- Texas glossy snake, A. elegans arenicola (Dixon, 1960)
- Mojave glossy snake, A. elegans candida (Klauber, 1946)
- Desert glossy snake, A. elegans eburnata (Klauber, 1946)
- Kansas glossy snake, A. elegans elegans (Kennicott, 1859)
- Arizona glossy snake, A. elegans noctovaga (Klauber, 1946)
- California glossy snake, A. elegans occidentalis (Blanchard, 1924)
- Painted glossy snake, A. elegans philipi (Klauber, 1946)
Description
The glossy snakes are characterized by brown or grey dorsal spots, with a dark border around them on a tan, cream or light grey background and a white or cream colored, unmarked ventral surface. Coloration often varies in relation to the color of the soil a snake's native habitat. They average 50-90 cm in length.
Habitat
Habitat is normally semi-arid grasslands of the southwestern United States, from California in the west, to Kansas in the east and as far south as Texas, and northern Mexico. Their primary diet consists of small rodents and small lizards.
Reproduction
Glossy snakes are oviparous. They breed in the late spring and early summer and young hatch out in the early fall. Clutches average from 10 to 20 young, that are approximately 25 cm long.
References
- Species Arizona elegans at The Reptile Database
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