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Nov 28, 20236 min read

Pituophis catenifer catenifer

Updated: Apr 22

PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE

Image by P. Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 Adult 6 feet 9 inches in length.

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Kings County locality)

By Patrick Houston Briggs

The Pacific gopher snake is a common constricting snake averaging somewhere around 4 feet in length as an adult. They are indigenous to northern and mid-coastal California inland through much of central and northern California and the Great Valley and into western Oregon but not along its coast except extremely southwest in that state. There are old records of this race in its pure form extending into Washington, the San Juan Island region, and southeastern British Columbia of Canada, but these populations are said to be currently extirpated due to man's industrial and commercial activities. To confuse things more, from north central Oregon south throughout the center of the state all the way into northeastern California, there is also a healthy natural occurring population of intergrade Pacific x Great Basin gopher snakes in central Oregon. Characteristics varying from either or both subspecies may be found on different individuals from this region. The pure Pacific gopher snake race, catenifer is replaced in much of Washington State by the Great Basin subspecies, deserticola.

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 adult Kings County California

Photo image taken by Pat Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 Motley type morph

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs, Courtesy Rick Lewis

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE WC from Hanford, California

By Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 Straight On Head Study

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

The Pacific gopher snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer like all others of this form has heavily keeled scales on the upper body, becoming smoother progressively along each side towards the belly. Although it is usually brown-blotched with black accenting against a light straw yellowish ground color, with spots and smudgy grayish or brownish suffusion along its sides, it is occasionally found in a brown-striped phase with similar ground color that ophidian breeders easily and enthusiastically reproduce in captivity.

Much of the earlier predecessors of striped individuals came from the Davis California region of Solano and Yolo Counties. They are still found in these areas occasionally. Some Pacific striped individuals are intergraded by snake breeders with striped individuals of the San Diego and other races and morphs to produce magnificent looking intergrades. Now as herpetoculturists work to produce aberrational morphs of all forms or races, striped morphs have been developed in nearly all kinds of Pituophis.

When catenifer is striped, it is on both sides of the mid-dorsal line longitudinally, and the venter is unmarked except for the tip of each ventral plate joining the lowest row of dorsal scales. In the common phase, the 47-90 mid-dorsal blotches are dark brown and do not, for the most part, connect with the smaller markings along the sides. The dorsal body blotch counts increase in number for the coastal regions and some northern counties and seem to decrease inland. The lateral markings become streaks toward the neck and there are 14-31 dark or black tail marks. The ground color may be straw colored or cream with plenty of brown flecking and many times, ashy or smudge suffusion throughout the body and underneath the tail. Even so, some individuals sport intense coloration such as russet-brown, brick red, extreme yellows or magnificent orange blends that appear as if they'd been air-brushed by an artist. If they are of the blotched or common phase, the venter is usually light colored with dark square-like markings covering the abdomen. Like many other gopher snake forms, the Pacific Gopher Snake race's head has a brown stripe that begins at rear of each jaw angling upward toward the back of each upper eye continuing above and straight across the head in front of both eyes with a stripe. Also, the rostral of the snout is bluntly rounded, and although this subspecies averages 4-1/2 to 5 feet long, it often grows much longer. I've come across several individuals exceeding 6 feet, and others have been found near or exceeding 7 feet in length from at least Fresno and Kings counties in California. The head is slightly wider than the neck and the rostral or snout scale that extends outward is bluntly rounded.

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

The Pacific Gopher Snake's subspecific name catenifer is a derivative of the Latin catena meaning "chain" and ferre which means "to carry". Interestingly, ifera means "bearing"; so, it can be called a "chain bearing or carrying snake". This form grows to 2.5 - 7 feet long (76 - 213 cm).

Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer

(Kings County locality) with a gopher

By Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 adult female Hanford,California

Photo image by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE

Ten miles west of Priest Valley in California. This individual has square like blotches.

Image by Patrick Houston Briggs

The range of the Pacific gopher snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer replaces the San Diego subspecies annectens northern range, right around the vicinity of south Monterey County along the Pacific coast with a little bit of intergradation. (older records used to believe it was Santa Barbara County). With all the images taken by anyone in any location with cell phones, we are able to see markings on individuals anywhere anytime.Not only does the Pacific gopher snake replace the coastal San Diego subspecies at that point, but its range widens more and even more inland northly up to southwest Oregon where its range begins to become less and less closer to the coast, and as its range continues further north, it begins to intergrade with the Great Basin gopher snake from north central and north eastern California, continuing to intergrade throughout central Oregon all the way north within Oregon state, while the pure Great Basin subspecies occupies the eastern part of the state. Older records report several populations having also existed in Washington state and in Alberta Canada, but current reports indicate that those populations are now extirpated. From the California's north border, the range continues south along the east side foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and along the west side and within the lower Coastal Ranges, also continuing south in the great valley region between both which continues southerly throughout the Sacramento Valley of the Great Valley and borders of the San Joaquin Valley. Older reports also have indicated that a Pacific-Great Basin intergradational form exists on the other side south of the mountain pass in Kern County.

Genus Pituophis Map Range by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 Eating duck eggs

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

Pituophis catenifer catenifer PACIFIC GOPHER SNAKE 0.1 Eating duck eggs from the nest.

HANFORD IN KINGS COUNTY CALIFORNIA

Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs

What I've observed from specimens that I've either examined or from images viewed of specimens from various localities photographed and shared through internet by many is that there does seem to be an intergradational population of Pacific-Great Basin gopher snakes from that Kern County region. Furthermore, both the Pacific gopher snake and the Great Basin gopher snake come in varying color forms and patterns throughout this and other areas where either of their borders meet with other subspecies in their broad ranges. (See the Great Basin gopher snake images of this site from that region from Dove Springs and Randsburg California. Also, see Doyle CA intergrade from northeastern CA.)

Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer (Kings County locality)

By Patrick Houston Briggs