Description: Also called the Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake. 12 - 20 inches long. A small pale snake with dark blotches, smooth scales and a blunt snout. The rostral scale over the nose is enlarged and raised above the level of the other scales, giving this snake its name, as the scale looks like part of a leaf folded over the nose. The ground color is pale tan, pink, or greyish with brown blotches on the back from the back of the head to the tail. The underside is white and unmarked. Pupils are vertical. Some males may have weekly keeled scales.

Habitat: Sandy or gravelly deserts - open flats, washes, alluvial fans, foothills. Creosote bush is typically present. From below sea level in the Imperial Valley to about 4,000 ft.

Range: Occurs from Inyo County south through the Mojave and Colorado deserts up to the desert base of the mountain ranges. Ranges east into Nevada and the southwest edge of Utah, south to the Baja California cape region, and through western Arizona south along the western coast of Mexico.

Found in these States: AZ | CA | NV | UT

Diet: Small lizards, especially banded geckos, and lizard eggs.

Reproduction: Females are oviparous, laying eggs, probably from June - July.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: