Description: 24 - 40 inches long. Most often 18 - 30 inches long. Neonates are 7.5 - 9 inches. A medium-sized snake with a head barely wider than the neck and keeled dorsal scales. Appearance is variable - there are two basic pattern morphs - striped, and spotted. Both have a drab olive, brown, or dark gray ground color, with no dorsal stripe, except for a partial stripe on the neck. The striped morph has a yellowish to gray lateral stripe on each side, and a fairly uniform dorsal coloring, with only faint spotting. The spotted morph has two rows of small dark spots on each side and lateral stripes are often not present.
Light areas between the scales between the rows of dark spots can create a checkered appearance. The underside is pale yellow or orange, unmarked, or with dark smudging.
Habitat: Among the most aquatic of the gartersnakes. Generally found near water sources - pools, creeks, cattle tanks, and others, often in rocky areas. Associated vegetation: oak woodland, willow, coastal sage scrub, scrub oak, sparse pine, chaparral, and brushland.
Range: Ranges continuously from near Salinas in Monterey County south along the coast mostly west of the south Coast Ranges, to southern California where it ranges east through the Transverse Ranges, and south through the coastal area and the Peninsular Ranges into northern Baja California. Occurs in some perennial desert slope streams north of the Transverse Ranges and east of the Peninsular Ranges, and into the Mohave Desert in Victorville. Also occurs on Catalina Island.
Diet: Eats fish, fish eggs, tadpoles, newt larvae, small frogs and toads, leeches, and earthworms.
Reproduction: Mating has been observed in late March and early April. Females are ovoviviparous - they carry the eggs internally until the young are born live. An average litter of about 15 live young are born from July to October. Females are known to store sperm for later use.
Status: Designated a California Species of Special Concern and protected by the state. Loss of wetland habitats have contributed to a reduction in the range of this snake. Declines in population of the species have been attributed to human impacts, including urban development and flood control in the southern part of its range, and habitat modification by livestock, drought, loss of native prey and predation by alien species in its northern range.
Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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