The thumbnails below show various snakes or snake groups in California; most photos are by me although a few friends are also represented. Click on any active links (underlined in blue) to bring up a web page discussing the species or group with a selection of photos. All photographs were taken in the wild at the site of discovery; no snakes were harmed in the making of this web site. Fundamental resources for identification and distribution of California snakes are the Stebbins' field guide (Stebbins 2003, 1985, 1966). Names used herein follow Crother et al. (2001).
Rubber Boa Charina bottae Fresno Co. [P. Backstrom] |
Ring-necked Snake Diadophis punctatus Monterey Co. [D. Roberson] |
Coachwhip (Red Racer) Masticophis flagellum piceus Riverside Co. [D. Roberson] |
Western Patch-nosed Snake Salvadora hexalepis Fresno Co. [P. Backstrom] |
Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer Inyo Co. [D. Roberson] |
Common Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula Monterey Co. [D. Roberson] |
Long-nosed Snake Rhinocheilus lecontei Inyo Co. [D. Roberson] |
California Red-sided Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis Santa Cruz Co. [D. Roberson] |
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotalus atrox Riverside Co. [D. Roberson] |
a page on the state's 'most beautiful' serpent San Francisco Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia San Mateo Co. [D. Roberson] |
Crother, B.I., chair. 2001. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Committee of Standard English and Scientific Names, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular 29 (as supplemented in Herp. Review 32: 152-153).PHOTOS: All photos © 2004 Don Roberson, except Rubber Boa & W. Patch-nosed Snake © Parker Backstrom; all rights reserved.Stebbins, R.C. 1966. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Stebbins, R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 2d ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Stebbins, R.C. 2003. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3d ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston.