Pituophis catenifer affinis

Pituophis catenifer affinis, commonly known as the Sonoran gopher snake, is a nonvenomous subspecies of colubrid snake that is endemic to the southwestern United States. It is one of six recognized subspecies of the gopher snake, Pituophis catenifer.^[5]

Pituophis catenifer affinis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pituophis
Species:	P. catenifer
Subspecies:	P. c. affinis
Trinomial name
Pituophis catenifer affinis (Hallowell, 1852)
Synonyms
Pityophis affinis Hallowell, 1852 Pituophis sayi affinis — Schmidt & Davis, 1941[1] Pituophis catenifer affinis — A.H. Wright & A.A. Wright, 1957[2] Pituophis melanoleucus affinis — Conant, 1975[3] Pituophis catenifer affinis — Collins, 1997[4]

Geographic range

A baby Sonoran gopher snake in Sahuarita, Arizona.

It is found from central Texas across the Southwestern United States to southeastern California, Arizona, and south into the northern states of Mexico.

Description

Adults average 127–183 cm (4.17–6.00 ft) in total length. The maximum recorded total length is 234 cm (7.68 ft).^[3]

The saddle-shaped dorsal blotches are reddish brown,^[1] except for near and on the tail, where they are dark brown or blackish.^[3]

The rostral is about as long as it is broad, not elongated as in other Pituophis subspecies.^[6]

Habitat

It primarily inhabits the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest USA, and into northern Mexico.

Diet

They feed on small rodents, hence the common name gopher snake.

Behavior

They are moderately defensive but can be tamed, and become very gentle. They have hard tough skin on their noses used to burrow into gopher holes and the burrows of other rodents. During the winter they brumate. They invade gopher holes and holes of other burrowing rodents and eat what they need to stay alive in the invaded burrow. When threatened by humans and farm equipment, these snakes are known to remain in harm’s way instead of making a retreat. These snakes will also tend to hiss and shake their tails when threatened, which leads to them being confused with rattlesnakes and then killed due to this confusion.

Reproduction

P. c. affinis is oviparous. Adult females lay 7-22 eggs in July or August. The eggs average 51 mm × 35 mm (2.0 in × 1.4 in). The hatchlings are about 40 cm (15.5 in) in total length.^[2]