Sonoran Shovelnose Snake

• Scientific Name: Chionactis Palarostris
• Common Name: Sonoran Shovelnose Snake
• Description: Resembles Sonoran Coral Snake, but is harmless. Crossbanded with black, yellow (or whitish) and red, mot of the black bands encircling body. Red saddles vary in width; in s. Arizona about same width as the black bands, but in Sonora may be 2 or nearly 3 times wider. Usually fewer than 21 black bands on body, bordered in front and back by a narrow or wide (Sonora) yellow band. Snout yellow, slightly convex in profile; back of head black. Lower jaw countersunk. Belly concaved. Nasal valves well developed. Scales smooth, usually in 15 rows. Anal divided.
• References: Excerpts from A FIELD GUIDE TO WESTERN REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS, 3/e by Robert C. Stebbins. Copyright (c) 2003 by Robert C. Stebbins. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
• Diet: insects, centipedes, spiders and other invertebrates
• Size: 10" to 17"