Pacific Gopher Snake from Hanford, California
Digital Image By Patrick H. Briggs, October 30, 2015
Pacific Gopher Snake
| Pituophis catenifer catenifer By Patrick Houston Briggs
Physical Description: The Pacific gopher snake is a nonvenomous colubrid ophidian and a robust constricting predator growing to 2.5 - 7 feet in length (76-213 cm). Its 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". Individuals over 6 feet are commonly found, usually dead on roads "DOR". The Pacific gopher snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer like other forms of this species, usually has four prefrontal scales above the head and heavily keeled scales on the upper body, becoming smoother progressively along each side towards the belly. It is usually brown-blotched with black accenting against a light straw yellowish ground color, usually with 3 additional rows of spots or marks and smudgy grayish or brownish suffusion along each of its sides, but it is occasionally found in a striped phase with similar ground color that ophidian breeders easily and enthusiastically reproduce in captivity. Depending on locality, the number and thickness of the vertebral blotches from this form vary significantly. The number increases in its most southerly coastal range in California along the coast where there may be some intergradation or just north of its southerly range, such as Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Marin or San Mateo counties. Dozens of digital photo images from many internet contributors validate correction of earlier range reports. In the wild, if 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 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 a few of these near or exceeding 7 feet in length from at least Fresno and Kings counties in California. The head of P. c. catenifer is only slightly wider than the neck when not in defense mode. Range: The Pacific gopher snake is one of the most commonly seen snakes in California. Old records of the Pacific gopher snake subspecies trace in its pure form ranging into Washington, the San Juan Island region, and southeastern British Columbia of Canada, but these populations are said to be currently extirpated due to mans industrial and commercial activities. The Pacific gopher snake P. c. catenifer replaces the San Diego gopher snake subspecies P. catenifer annectens northern range. Current records indicate that they are indigenous around the vicinity north of mid San Luis Obispo County along the Pacific coast with a little bit of intergradation. (Older records used to believe the San Diego gopher snake subspecies' range to be not farther than Santa Barbara county. Many internet photo contributors prove correction ranging with and intergrading the Pacific race in San Luis Obispo and as far north as southern Monterrey County.) Not only does the Pacific gopher snake begin to replace the coastal San Diego subspecies in these coastal counties, but its range widens 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. To the east, the pure Pacific gopher snake race, catenifer is replaced in much of Washington State by the Great Basin subspecies, deserticola. 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.
Pet Trade Morphs: Much of the earlier pet trade predecessors of striped individuals came from the Davis California region of Solano and Yolo Counties. They are still found in these areas occasionally. In collections, breeders cross striped individuals of Davis or Yolo County snakes with striped individuals of the San Diego form and other races to produce magnificent looking intergrades. Now as herpetoculturists work to produce morphs of all forms or races, striped morphs have been developed in nearly all kinds of Pituophis.
Original Description: Pituophis catenifer - (Blainville, 1835) - Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, Vol. 4, p. 290, pl. 26, figs. 2-2b |
Pacific Gopher Snake with its prey, "a gopher"
Pituophis catenifer catenifer
Photo slide by Pat Briggs
Below is a sub-adult Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer found at the Corcoran California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation Substance Abuse Treatment Facility SATF and State Prison Bravo Yard
Close up Digital Photo Lateral View Of Head by Patrick H. Briggs July 2018
Below is another pic of a sub-adult Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer found at the Corcoran California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Substance Abuse Treatment Facility SATF and State Prison Bravo Yard
Close up Digital View of Head From Above by Patrick H. Briggs July 2018
Below is another pic of a sub-adult Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer found at the Corcoran California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Substance Abuse Treatment Facility SATF and State Prison Bravo Yard
Close up Digital View of the Body by Patrick H. Briggs July 2018
The Pacific Gopher Snake below from Kings County measured 81 inches in length.
By Patrick Briggs
The wild female Pacific Gopher Snake below was found coming out of a gopher
hole in a freshly dug mound in a residents backyard in Hanford California.
Digital Photo Image by Patrick H. Briggs October 2015.
Below is a close-up head view from the side and slightly above of an adult male Pacific Gopher Snake found in July 2018 on the
west edge of Highway 43 about 2 blocks south of Kent Avenue in Hanford, California.
Digital Photo Image by Patrick Houston Briggs July 30,2018
Below is a close-up head view from above of an adult male Pacific Gopher Snake found in July 2018 on the
west edge of Highway 43 about 2 blocks south of Kent Avenue in Hanford, California.
Digital Photo Image by Patrick Houston Briggs July 30,2018
Below is a close-up of the body of an adult male Pacific Gopher Snake found in July 2018 on the
west edge of Highway 43 about 2 blocks south of Kent Avenue in Hanford, California.
Digital Photo Image by Patrick Houston Briggs July 30,2018
Kings County adult male over 5.5 foot Pacific gopher snake
Photo by Pat Briggs
Pacific gopher snake riparian habitat in city of Lemoore Kings County, California
Photos By Patrick Briggs
General Info and care of Pituophis: http://www.specialtyserpents.com/caresheets/Pituophis.pdf
Pacific gopher snake habitat in Lemoore, California- Kings County
Pacific Gopher Snake
Pituophis catenifer catenifer ( Blainville, 1835 )
Digital photo by Patrick Houston Briggs (Individual below from south Hanford, California-October 21, 2015)
Below are 23 Pacific gopher eggs laid by a the wild collected female from Kings County California. A small bowl of water for humidity was added to the corner and the lid placed back on just as the eggs sit. Within about 9 weeks, at approximately 85 degrees, they all hatched. One of the neonate hatchlings is in the image below the image of all the eggs. Photos and slide scans by Patrick Briggs A young Pacific gopher snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer hatched from eggs of a wild collected female from Hanford California in Kings County. Image by Pat Briggs The neonate Pacific gopher snake below was found at Corcoran SATF and State Prison A yard in California. Digital Image by Patrick Briggs
(DOR) Pituophis catenifer catenifer in a transitional zone, Monterey County side 10 miles west of Priest Valley on the HWY 198. Found near the area where the counties Benito, Monterey, and Fresno are near each other, Adult female, Total length 47.5 inches This individual seems peculiar to me in upper neck pattern because the light divisions are narrow and contained within square-like brown markings. If you look at the P. c. deserticola pages of this website, there is an individual from Lancaster with similar markings from another zone of intergradation, where 3 races come together; the Great Basin, Pacific, and the San Diego. Although the markings appear similar, it's more red. Photo by Patrick H. Briggs May 9, 2015 on a Saturday at about 3:30 P.M. DOR Pacific gopher snake from Monterey County near Priest Valley Digital Image by Patrick Briggs 5-09-15 View of the neck from the same DOR Monterey County female Digital by Pat Briggs
Below is an intermediate specimen from Doyle California. Digital by Patrick Briggs
Below is a specimen showing intergradation found near the borders of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in Cuyuma Valley California. Digital photo by Zachery Michelson
Young albino (10 months) Pacific gopher snake from Selma, California parents. Photo by Patrick Briggs Red Phase Manteca, California Pacific Gopher snake Photo Image By Patrick H. Briggs, Courtesy Pete Marshall
Below is a beautiful reddish morph of a wild collected young Pacific gopher snake from Manteca, California of San Joaquin County. Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs Below is another young Pacific gopher snake found right next to the one above from Manteca, California. This individual has normal to slightly anrythristic body color. Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs
This bright red blotched Pacific gopher snake was found between Livermore and Manteca California. Digital photo by Patrick Briggs Courtesy Jerry Boyer
Scutelation Mid-body Scales 29-37 Supralabials 7-10 Ventrals 206-234 Infralabials 10-14 Caudals 54-80 Preoculars Prefrontals 2-6 (Usually 4) Great Resources Below (See Olive Griffith Stull, BULLETIN 175, U.S. NTL. MSM. p.22 TABLE 1.--- Synopsis of the forms of the genus Pituophis) (Also, see REPTILES magazine, April 2001 Pituophis Parade, The Bull, Gopher & Pine Snakes p.48-73 By Patrick Briggs) (Check out Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition, By Robert C. Stebbins) A significant resource is http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/p.c.catenifer.html Two-headed catenifer: http://www.escape.org/lwm/albums/album250/GopherSnake_2004_5415_20041012_03.jpg http://www.californiaherps.com/noncal/northwest/nwsnakes/pages/p.c.catenifer.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/grassvalleylarry/218510509/ A beautiful yellow albino Pacific gopher snake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hghjim/2045556840/in/set-72157603233540189 San Luis Obispo County, California Pacific gopher snake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marlinharms/8554038328/ Carrizo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo, County California (catenifer morph) Pacific gopher snake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billbouton/4828123481/ San Luis Obispo County California (annectens morph): http://www.flickr.com/photos/billbouton/8546127461/ Navato, California Pacific gopher snake preparing body to shed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/5645607778/ Pacific Gopher Snake from Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Washington: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderingherpetologist/5912435153/ A great photo pic of a Pacific gopher snake eating a mole in the wild: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grassvalleylarry/218510509/ A hawk carries off its prey, a gopher snake and is attacked by a smaller bird: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01506/hawk-snake_1506491i.jpg Neonate striped and standard blotched Pacific gopher snake: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8413447620/sizes/c/in/photostream/ Reddish wild Yuba County California Pacific gopher snake: http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/pccateniferyu506.jpg Reddish wild El Dorado County California Pacific gopher snake: http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/pccateniferecrp1210.jpg Washington Pacific gopher snake: http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/html/4pica.html http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Bull-Pine-GopherSnakes/messages/2157239.html
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs (female specimen below from southern Hanford, California)
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs Courtesy John Ginter Pacific Gophersnake Striped Morph Photo slide below by Patrick Houston Briggs Courtesy Sean McKeown (Wild Snake with a gopher from Hanford, California) |
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs Courtesy Laurence Hope (Wild collected albino from Hanford, California)
Below is a 54' adult female wild collected at the west edge canal next to Hidden Valley Park in Hanford, CA.
April 2014 Digital image by Patrick Houston Briggs
A close up lateral left side of the head of the same female Pacific gopher snake as above.
Photo by Pat Briggs
Below is another Pacific gopher snake collected viciously defending itself on an open gopher snake mound hole on October 21, 2015
Digital Image by Patrick Briggs
(A hatching Pacific gopher snake exiting the Egg)
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs (Below, Wild Adult from Hanford, California)
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs (Robbing a Mallard duck's nest)
Photo by Patrick Houston Briggs
Photo below by Nancy Briggs
(Pat holds a Pacific Gopher snake nearly 6 feet from Kings County, Ca "Mid-1980's")
Digital photo by Patrick Houston Briggs June 22, 2014 (Below, a wild female adult Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer)
Pituophis catenifer catenifer wild female adult
Digital photo by Patrick Houston Briggs
Below is another Old adult wild caught female Pituophis catenifer catenifer from southeast residential Hanford, California.
Photographed, measured, and released By Patrick H. Briggs Saturday, October 12, 2019
Check out her chewed off tail. She was ferocious when captured. I measured her at over 6 feet 1 inch, if she would have her full tail, 6 inches more.
This Pacific was collected and photographed March 2015 from a dirt road heading to Jose Basin 20 miles or so from Shaver Lake of the Sierras.
Photo by Patrick H. Briggs
Pituophis catenifer catenifer
(This animal from a road leading to Jose Basin near (Shaver Lake) in the Sierra Nevadas has much lighter blotching color than the valley snakes. 2007)
2007 Slide photo scan by Patrick H. Briggs
Pacific Gopher Snake (from Jose Basin in the Sierra Neveda Mountains in California)
Photo slide scan by Patrick H. Briggs
Above slide scan to computer December 2009 caught and photographed 2007
See the Pacific Gopher Snake somewhat hidden in front of a canal in Lemoore, California 2010.
Photo by Patrick H. Briggs
Pituophis catenifer caternifer from southern Hanford, California in Kings County.
Photo digital by Patrick H. Briggs
Photo slide by Pat Briggs Courtesy Lloyd Lemke
Photo by Patrick Briggs
Photo by Pat Briggs
Photo by Patrick H. Briggs Courtesy Laurence Hope
This wild specimen images below from Hanford, California 2011
The large female Pacific Gopher Snake from Hanford California measured 81 inches in length!
Digital Image of the snake and Pat Briggs by Nancy Briggs