Alternate name: Bullsnake
Family: Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes view all from this family
Description 48-96" (120-240 cm). A large, cream-colored to yellowish brown snake with dark brown, black, or reddish brown blotches along top and sides of body. Head has a dark line crossing the eyes.
Warning When confronted, the Gopher Snake will loudly hiss, flatten its head, and vibrate its tail rapidly in order to scare off a human or other potential predator. It may then lunge at the intruder and strike. Its bite is not venomous.
Subspecies Sonoran (P. c. affinis), blotches brown or reddish brown on forepart of body, distinctly darker on rear; extreme sc. Colorado, w. New Mexico, extreme w. Texas, c. and s. Arizona, and se. California south into Mexico.
San Diego (P. c. annectens), black blotches on forepart of body fuse together; coastal s. California into Baja.
Pacific (P. c. catenifer), dark brown or black blotches on forepart of body separated; interspaces between side blotches suffused with gray; w. Oregon south through w. and c. California to Santa Barbara County.
Great Basin (P. c. deserticola), wide blotches on forepart of body usually black, connected with side blotches, and creating isolated light blotches on back; sc. British Columbia south through e. Washington, Nevada, se. California and eastward through Idaho, Utah, n. Arizona, to Wyoming, w. Colorado, and nw. New Mexico.
Santa Cruz Island (P. c. pumilis), dwarf race resembling San Diego, 24-32" (61-81 cm) long, 27-29 scale rows; Santa Cruz Island, California.
Bullsnake (P. c. sayi), yellowish with 41 or more black, brown, or reddish-brown body blotches, dark line from eye to angle of jaw; s. Alberta to s. and c. Wisconsin and w. Indiana, south through c. and w. Texas to ne. Mexico.
Breeding Female lays one or two clutches of eggs in summer.
Habitat Many habitats from sea level to mountains.
Range Southernmost British Columbia east to Wisconsin and south to southern California and southern Texas.
Discussion The six distinct subspecies of the Gopher Snake inhabit most of the United States from the Great Plains westward. The Bullsnake is the subspecies inhabiting the Great Plains, while the other subspecies -- Pacific, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Great Basin, and Sonoran -- are named for their chosen geographic ranges. Because of their behavior when cornered, these snakes are sometimes mistaken for rattlesnakes.
