Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snake

The Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snake is a small, sand-adapted colubrid closely related to and often confused with the Western Shovel-Nosed Snake. It occupies a narrower range within the Sonoran Desert, favoring rocky bajadas and washes with fine granitic sand rather than open dune systems.

Like its relative, it shares the specialized shovel-shaped snout and countersunk jaw for moving through loose substrate, and is entirely harmless to humans.

• Small, slender body with smooth scales
• Cream to yellowish ground color with bold black saddles alternating with orange-red bands that typically extend fully across the belly
• Flattened, shovel-shaped snout with a countersunk lower jaw
• Small head, small eyes with round pupils
• Distinguished from the Western Shovel-Nosed Snake by bands extending completely across the venter and more restricted rocky-wash habitat

Found in rocky foothills, bajadas, and desert washes with fine sand in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and adjacent Sonora, Mexico, often at slightly higher elevation than the Western Shovel-Nosed Snake.

Nocturnal and fossorial, remaining buried in sand during the heat of the day and emerging at night to forage. Feeds on invertebrates such as insects, spiders, and centipedes. Docile and non-aggressive. Reproduces by laying eggs in summer.