The Sharptail Snake is a small species of non-venomous snake that is native to parts of the Western United States and Canada.
This snake is sometimes referred to by other common names such as the Brown Snake, the Pacific Brown Snake or the Pacific Ground Snake.
Sharptail Snake Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Sharptail Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Pine Snakes and Milk Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
Genus
The genus that the Sharptail Snake belongs to is called Contia. This is a small genus of snake that are native to North America.
While many species have been placed in this genus over the years, there are currently only two recognised species left in the genus.
The remaining species in the Contia genus are the Sharptail Snake and the Forest Sharptail Snake.
Species
The scientific name for the Sharptail Snake is Contia tenuis and there are currently no recognised sub-species.
The species was first described in 1852 by an American and a French herpetologist named Spencer Fullerton Baird and Charles Frédéric Girard.
Baird and Girard described a number of species together including the Great Plains Rat Snake and the Western Hognose Snake.
Baird was also responsible for describing species such as the Glossy Snake and the Slender Glass Lizard.
Sharptail Snake Description
The Sharptail Snake is a small species of snake that typically only grows to around one foot in length, although they can get a little bigger.
They are a smooth scaled species that vary from reddish brown to grey in color. They typically have a darker stripe running along the sides of the snake.
Their belly can vary in color but often contains narrow bands of black and white scales.
They have a sharp spiny scale at the tip of their tail which is one of their defining characteristics and can help to identify the species.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Sharptail Snake is native to parts of the Western United States and a small part of South-Western Canada.
In the United States, this snake can be found as far South as the Bakersfield region of California.
Their range extends Northwards along the Coast into Oregon where their distribution remains relatively unbroken as far as Portland.
There are scattered populations of Sharptail Snake in Washington. These snakes can also be found on Vancouver Island.
They can also be found in a small part of mainland British Columbia in and around the Garibaldi Provincial Park.
These snakes can live in a variety of different habitats but are most commonly found in wooded or forested areas where there is plenty of ground cover such as fallen leaves, twigs or logs.
Sharptail Snake Behaviour
The Sharptail Snake is a diurnal species meaning they are mostly active during the day and sleep through the night.
They are a small secretive snake that likes to hide under debris such as fallen leaves or twigs or under rotten logs.
This snake likes wet and cooler environments than most species so they are often roaming around at different times to other snakes.
The times they are active can vary depending on their location as the temperatures are very different throughout their range.
Multiple Sharptail Snakes can sometimes be found in the same burrow or under the same log. However, this is simply believed to be multiple snakes using the same favourable resource as opposed to communal behaviour.