THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Colubridae  

Mohave Shovel-nosed Snake
Sonora occipitalis (Hallowell, 1854)
soh-NOHR-ah — ok-sip-ih-TAL-iss

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: 2024.02.19.19.45.02)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.13 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona California Nevada

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for a marking or trait associated with the back of the head.
Sonora — Named after the Sonoran Desert or Sonora state in Mexico, referencing the region where many species in the genus are found.
occipitalis — From Latin occiput (back of the head) and -alis (pertaining to). Likely refers to coloration, scalation, or other features at the rear of the head.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Banded Snake (Chionactis occipitalis: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Mohave Snake (Chionactis occipitalis: 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); Mohave Ringed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis annulata: 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); Desert Snake (Chionactis occipitalis: 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); Tricolor Ground Snake (Sonora occipitalis: 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.); Mohave Ground Snake (Sonora occipitalis: 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.); Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Tucson Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis klauberi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Mojave Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis occipitalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Nevada Shovel-nosed Snake (Chionactis occipitalis talpina: 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:
1854 Hallowell, Edward. Descriptions of new reptiles from California. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 7:91–97
1943 Stickel, William H. The Mexican snakes of the genera Sonora and Chionactis with notes on the status of other colubrid genera. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 56:109-128
1970 Bury, R. Bruce, Franklin Gress, and George C. Gorman. Karyotypic survey of some colubrid snakes from western North America. Herpetologica 26(4):461-466
2001 Mahrdt, Clark R., Beaman, Kent R., Rosen, Philip C., and Holm, Peter A. Chionactis Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (730):1-6
2001 Mahrdt, Clark R., Beaman, Kent R., Rosen, Philip C., and Holm, Peter A. Chionactis occipitalis Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (731):1-12
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 15:58 CT