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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Pituophis catenifer
Gophersnake

 
Scientific Name: Pituophis catenifer (Blainville, 1835)
English Name: Gophersnake
English Name Synonyms: Gopher Snake
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
Classification Level: Species
Taxonomy Comments: Tracked at the subspecies level in BC.
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: R-PICA
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Reptilia Squamata Colubridae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Oct 2015)
Provincial Status: S3 (Apr 2025)
BC List: No Status
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status: Extirpated / Threatened (Apr 2013)
COSEWIC Comments: Subspecies P. catenifer catenifer has been designated as Extirpated (May 2012) and P. catenifer deserticola has been designated as Threatened (May 2013).
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 3 - Sensitive (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: Dorsum yellowish or cream with numerous dark blotches; usually a dark stripe across the head between the eyes and from each eye to the angle of the jaw; belly usually cream or yellowish with dark spots; dorsal scales keeled; anal scale single; usually four prefrontal scales; vertical keel at opening of windpipe; maximum total length around 280 cm but rarely more than 180 cm.
Global Reproduction Comments: The mating period extends from April to early June over much of the range (Ernst and Barbour 1989). Eggs are laid as early as June in some areas or as late as August in other regions (Ernst and Barbour 1989). Clutch size is 2-24. Generally individual females produce one clutch per year. Incubation typically takes 50-100 days, with 70-75 days most common (Parker and Brown 1980, Ernst and Barbour 1989). In many areas, hatchlings emerge in August and September. In Utah, males reach sexually maturity in 1-2 years, females in 3-5 years (Parker and Brown 1980). Females appear to have an annual breeding cycle (Fitch 1970, Diller and Wallace 1996).
Global Ecology Comments: Population density was estimated at 0.3-1.3/ha in Utah and Idaho (Parker and Brown 1980, Nussbaum 1983).

This snake is remarkably variable in its behavior. Some individuals lie motionless when approached, remaining passive even when handled. Others respond to approach by coiling and striking (often lunging forward and grunting with each strike), hissing loudly, and vibrating the tail. The jaws may be spread, giving the head the triangular shape typical of rattlesnakes. In dry vegetation the vibrating tail may produce a sound resembling that made by a rattlesnakes rattle. Some individuals produce a rattling hiss that closely resembles the sound of a rattlesnakes rattle. Source: Hammerson (1999).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		Y /
Y /
N /
na /
Global Migration Comments: In Utah, migrated an average of about 500 m between winter den and summer range (Parker and Brown 1980).

Imler (1945) recaptured 11 snakes that had moved less than 100 m, but reported one snake moving 2.4 km. In Kansas, Fitch (1958) reported movements between captures of 94, 128, and 823 m. Radio-telemetered snakes in Kansas moved an average of 142 m in a day (Fitch and Shirer 1971). Home range was estimated at 1-2 ha in Utah (Parker and Brown 1980).

In west-central California, four males had home ranges of 1.0-2.3 ha (mean 1.7 ha) (95% convex polygon); maximum range length was a few hundred meters (Rodriguez-Robles 2003).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: This species occurs in a wide range of habitats, extending from lowlands to mountains: desert, prairie, shrubland, woodland, open coniferous forest, farmland, and marshes. Midwestern populations inhabit prairies; western and Mexican populations range from coastal grasslands and forests through deserts into montane forests (Sweet and Parker 1990). This snake is terrestrial, fossorial, and arboreal. It remains underground in cold weather and during the hot midday period in summer; it may occupy mammal burrows (Schroder 1950, Fitch 1958) or dig its own burrow, aided by the pointed snout and enlarged rostral scale. Carpenter (1982) estimated that burrowing Pituophis could move up to 3,400 cubic cm of soil in an hour. Eggs are deposited in burrows excavated by females in loose soil, in spaces beneath large rocks or logs, or possibly in small mammal burrows.
Food Habits: Carnivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Feeds primarily on small mammals; also eats birds and their eggs, lizards, small snakes and snake eggs, and insects; lizards and insects are more common in the diet of juveniles than in that of adults. Forages actively and locates prey either by olfaction or sight (Dyrkacz and Corn 1974, Chiszar et al. 1980). Often forages underground, but in some areas also commonly climbs trees to prey on nesting birds (e.g., Eichhorn and Koenig 1992).

See Diller and Johnson (1988) for predation rate on small mammals in southwestern Idaho.
Global Phenology: Diurnal: Adult, Immature
Hibernates/aestivates: Adult, Immature
Global Phenology Comments: Activity occurs from about April through October in the north, mostly March through November farther south(Nussbaum et al. 1983, Tennant 1984). In southwestern Idaho, seasonal activity peaked in late May and early June (Diller and Wallace 1996). Generally this snake is diurnal, but it may be active at night, largely fossorial, or exhibit bimodal morning and evening activity in hot weather.
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 168/ /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: The range extends from southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, Minnesota, and Indiana south through almost all of western and central North America to northern Baja California (Grismer 2002) (or to southern Baja California if P. vertebralis is included in P. catenifer; Rodriguez-Robles and De Jesus-Escobar 2000), Sinaloa, and Zacatecas.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Jan 28, 2010
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
Collins, J. T. 1991. Viewpoint: a new taxonomic arrangement for some North American amphibians and reptiles. SSAR Herpetol. Review 22:42-43.
Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.
Diller, L. V., and D. R. Johnson. 1988. Food habits, consumption rates, and predation rates of western rattlesnakes and gopher snakes in southwestern Idaho. Herpetologica 44:228-233.
Diller, L. V., and R. L. Wallace. 1996. Comparative ecology of two snake species (Crotalus viridis and Pituophis melanoleucus) in southwestern Idaho. Herpetologica 52:343-360.
Eichholz, M. W., and W. D. Koenig. 1992. Gopher snake attraction to birds' nests. Southwest. Nat. 37:293-298.
Fitch, H. S. 1970. Reproductive cycles of lizards and snakes. Univ. Kansas Museum Natural History Miscellaneous Publication 52:1-247.
Knight, J. L. 1986. Variation in snout morphology in the North American snake Pituophis melanoleucus (Serpentes: Colubridae). J. Herpetol. 20:77-79.
Nussbaum, R.A., E.D. Brodie, Jr., and R.M. Storm. 1983. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 332 pp.
Ovaska, K, S. Lennart, C Engelstoft, L. Matthias, E. Wind and J. MacGarvie. 2004. Best Management Practices for Amphibians and Reptiles in Urban and Rural Environments in British Columbia. Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection, Ecosystems Standards and Planning, Biodiversity Branch
Parker, W. S., and W. S. Brown. 1980. Comparative ecology of two colubrid snakes, Masticophis t. taeniatus and Pituophis melanoleucus deserticola, in northern Utah. Milwaukee Pub. Mus. Pub. Biol. Geol. 7. 104 pp.
Reichling, S. B. 1995. The taxonomic status of the Louisiana pine snake (Pituophis melanoleucus ruthveni) and its relevance to the evolutionary species concept. Journal of Herpetology 29:186-198.
Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
Sweet, S. S., and W. S. Parker. 1990. Pituophis melanoleucus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 474.1-474.8.
Tennant, A. 1984. The Snakes of Texas. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, Texas. 561 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2010. Species Summary: Pituophis catenifer. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 25, 2026).