Cabeza Prieta Natural History Association
Sonoran Desert Reptiles
Salvadora hexalepis (Western patchnose snake)
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Diet: small mammals, lizards
Size: 18" to 46" (46 to 117 cm) |
Identification: 20 - 46 in. (51-117 cm). Slender, with a broad yellow, tan, or geige, dark-bordered middorsal stripe and a large, patchlike rostal. Middorsal stripe, except where it widens on neck, usually 3 scales wide (or nearly so); occasionally faint or obscured by crossbands. Dark stripe on side, to rear of neck region, usually on 3rd scale row. Plain white below, sometimes washed with dull orange, especially toward tail. Two to three small scales between rear pair of chin shields. Nine upper labials, none or 1 or 2 of which sometimes reach eye. Dorsal scales, smooth. Anal divided. Male: Keeled scales above vent and at base of tail. Keeling weak or absent in female. Eats small mammals, lizards, reptile eggs, and nestling birds.
References
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