The Great Basin Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of small colubrid

Colubrid

A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...

 snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

 native to the western part of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Great Basin Gopher Snake can be found all over the west including some areas of Canada and Mexico. This serpent can be found in California, New Mexico, Oregon, Arizona, British Columbia, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and Idaho.

Description

The Great Basin Gopher Snake have dorsal

Dorsum (biology)

In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...

 spots that are dark brown or black, and they are connected to each other by very narrow lines that run along each side of the anterior end. On each side of the neck there usually is a dark longitudinal stripe that is surrounded by some lighter coloring, which eventually breaks up towards the posterior end of the snake and turns into dashes or small spots. The body scales are keeled and the head has a pointed shape. The Great Basin's underbelly has a creamy color with small, dark, irregular blotches. Their average lifespan is 7 years.

Scutellation in Great Basins	Usual # of Scales
Midbody	29-35
Ventrals	214-259
Caudals	54-71
Anal	entire
Prefrontal scales	usually 4
Supralabials	8-10
Infralabials	9-15
Preoculars	1-2
Postoculars	2-6

Habitat

As aforementioned, the Great Basin Gopher Snake can be found all over the western United States. They can be found in many grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

s, woodland

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

s, desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

s, coastal sage scrub, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 land, and riparian areas.

Behavior

The Great Basin is a great climber, swimmer, and burrower. It is one of the most commonly found snakes while hiking and driving on the road. They are easily seen in the Spring when the males are out and about trying to find a mate. The hatchlings are easily found in late August and September when they emerge from their eggs. Great Basins are not dangerous unless provoked, as is with most animals. When they are defending themselves from predators will elevate and inflate their bodies, and flatten its head into a triangular shape. Loud hissing noises will ensue, along with quick shaking of its tail to mimmick the sound of the deadly rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

. Unlike the rattlesnake, however, the Great Basin is nonvenomous.

Diet

The Great Basin is a carnivore

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

, and it eats many things. Some of these include birds and their eggs, lizards, small mammals (pocket gophers), and insects.

Reproduction

When it comes to subspecies of Gopher Snakes their eggs are laid anywhere from June to August, and the Great Basin is no exception. It usually takes the eggs 2 to 2.5 months to hatch. After the snakes mate in the Spring they usually lay anywhere from 3 to 24 eggs, with 7 eggs being the average. When the young are born, they are usually in the range of 12 to 18 inches in length.

Scientific Study

The following link (BJLS) is a study done on Gopher Snakes (P. catenifer about their feeding ecology. The study focuses on the contents of the stomachs of more than 2600 specimens and looks at the most commonly eaten prey.