OTHER NAMES: Pacific Gopher Snake, Coast Gopher Snake, Gopher Snake
Latin Etymology: Pituophis ("pine snake") catenifer ("chain bearing")
Adult Western Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer) at Writing-on-Stone National Park, Alberta, Canada - July 2024
Featured Subspecies: Bullsnake - Pituophis catenifer sayi
Weight: 1-4.5kg / Length: 36-84cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern
One of the largest snakes in North America, the Western Gopher Snake is found over most of the Western United States save for the higher parts of the Rockies. Despite being larger than them on average, Western Gopher Snakes will mimic the strike pose and tail shaking of Rattlesnakes to deter predators.
Related Species:
Order: Squamata
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Pituophis
SUBSPECIES: P. c. affinis, P. c. annectens, P. c. catenifer, P. c. desrticola, P. c. fulginatus, P. c. pumilis, P. c. sayi
- Sighting Locations -
CANADA -Found in very Southern parts of Alberta and British Columbia
- CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - One seen at Writing-on-Stone National Park, Alberta
Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto
No comments:
Post a Comment