THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Colubridae  

Banded Sandsnake
Sonora cincta (Cope, 1861)
soh-NOHR-ah — SINK-tuh

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
See comments under Sonora. (Boundy, Jeff, Frank T. Burbrink, and Sara Ruane. 2025. Squamata (excluding lizards) – Snakes. Pages 38-54 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.19.18.54.52)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.16 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its encircling or banded pattern.
Sonora — Named after the Sonoran Desert or Sonora state in Mexico, referencing the region where many species in the genus are found.
cincta — From Latin cinctus, “girded” or “banded,” from cingere, “to gird.” Refers to banding or striping patterns on the body.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Banded Sand Snake (Chilomeniscus cinctus: 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.);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1861 Cope, Edward D. Contributions to the ophiology of Lower California, Mexico and Central America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 13:292-306
1963 Banta, Benjamin H. and Alan E. Leviton. Remarks on the colubrid genus Chilomeniscus (Serpentes: Colubridae). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 31(11):309-327
2012 Cox, Christian L. Phylogenetic systematics, populations genetics, and the evolution of color pattern polymorphism and coral snake mimicry in the snake genus Sonora. Dissertation. University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas. 159pp.
2013 Cox, Christian L. and Alison R. Davis Rabosky. Spatial and temporal drivers of phenotypic diversity in polymorphic snakes. The American Naturalist 182(2):E40-E57
2014 Cox, Christian L. and Paul T. Chippindale. Patterns of genetic diversity in the polymorphic ground snake (Sonora semiannulata). Genetica 142:361-370

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:54 CT