THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Dipsadidae  

Coast Nightsnake
Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha Cope, 1860
HIP-sih-glee-nah — oh-KROH-roh-in-kah

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.23.01.40)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.65 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: California

Taxonomic Etymology:
Name for it head patterning.
Hypsiglena — “High pupil,” from Greek.
ochrorhyncha — Greek ochros = “pale yellow” + rhynchos = “snout” — “pale-snouted,” referring to light facial markings.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Xantus' Snake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Spotted Night Snake (Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Spotted Night Snake (Hypsiglena ochrorhynchus ochrorhynchus: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Spotted Night Snake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); San Diego Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata klauberi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Sierra Nevada Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata nuchalata: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Spotted Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata ochrorhyncha: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1861 "1860" Cope, Edward D. Catalogue of the Colubridae in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with notes and descriptions of new species. Part 2. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 12:241-266
1954 Tanner, Wilmer W. Additional note on the genus Hypsiglena with a description of a new subspecies. Herpetologica 10:54-56
2008 Weaver, Robert E. Distribution, abundance, and habitat associations of the Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata) in Washington State. Northwestern Naturalist 89(3):164-170
2016 Myers, Edward A., Michael J. Hickerson, and Frank T. Burbrink. Asynchronous diversification of snakes in the North American warm deserts. Journal of Biogeography 44(2):1-14
2016 Lee, Justin L., Adrian Thompson and Daniel G. Mulcahy. Relationships between numbers of vertebrae, scale counts, and body size, with implications for taxonomy in Nightsnakes (Genus: Hypsiglena). Journal of Herpetology 50(4):616-620
2020 Myers, Eward A. and Daniel G. Mulcahy. Six additional mitochondrial genomes for North American nightsnakes (Dipsadidae: Hypsiglena) and a novel gene feature for advanced snakes. Mitochondrial DNA Part B Resources 5(3):3056-3058

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:58 CT