General Description: Desert Nightsnakes (Hypsiglena chlorophaea) are small, tan or light brown snakes with dark brown, irregular blotches down the back. They usually also have large dark spots on both sides of the neck, but sometimes the spots merge to form a dark band, and occasionally they are absent. The head is pointy and triangular. The eyes bulge out, and the pupils are vertical in bright light.

Taxonomy: Colubrid Snakes Family (Colubridae). Formerly Hypsiglena torquata.

Technical Description:

Diet:

Habitat: Desert Nightsnakes occur in a variety of habitats, including rocky and sandy areas from the desert flats to mountain meadows.

Range: Distributed widely across the southern and western U.S. from eastern Washington and eastern California to western Oklahoma and western Texas, south into southern Mexico.

Breeding:

Similar Species:

Comments: Desert Nightsnakes are venomous, but they have fangs in the back of the mouth, and it is unlikely that they would be a problem for a human.