| Species | Contia tenuis Baird and Girard |
| Family | Colubridae (Colubrids) |
| Status | State Candidate |
| State Rank | S3 |
| Global Rank | G5 |
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This is a small snake, usually less than 30 cm in total length and rarely exceeding 40 cm. It is reddish brown above with indistinct reddish dorsolateral stripes. The ventral scales are distinctively marked with alternating bands of white and black ending at the caudal scales. The tail ends in a sharp spine. Scales are smooth with 15 rows of dorsal scales at mid-body. Pupils are round. Young snakes are redder in coloration and have more distinct lines down the sides than adult snakes. See Photos Page.
The Sharptail Snake is the only snake in Washington with a spine at the tip of the tail and alternating bands of white and black on the ventral scales. The tail spine is occasionally absent due to injury. See Photos Page.
Little is known about this secretive snake in Washington. Activity apparently begins shortly after snow has melted in late March or early April. Sharptail Snakes are surface active when conditions are moist and retreat underground when surface conditions are dry. Based on observation of aggregations in the spring, breeding takes place in April or May. Eggs are laid in late June or July and hatching occurs in the fall.
Sharptail Snakes have been verified from twelve disjunct areas of the Puget Trough, Eastern Cascades and Columbia Plateau ecoregions. They have been documented from the following areas and counties: Chumstick Creek in Chelan Co.; Cle Elum, Taneum Creek, Thorp and Yakima Canyon in Kittitas Co.; Umtanum Creek and Terrace Heights in Yakima Co.; Canyon Creek, Lyle, Trout Lake and Bear Creek in Klickitat Co.; and Gravelly Lake in Pierce Co.
The type specimen was collect by the U.S. Exploring Expedition in 1858 from the “Puget Sound Region.” The only verified Puget Trough sightings are from Gravelly Lake, where specimens were collected in 1939, 1945 and 1949. See Distribution Map.
For information on the complete range of this species, see NatureServe Explorer.
This species is usually found in or under decaying woody debris or rocks in seasonally moist habitats. Most sites in Washington occur near lakes, ponds, creeks or rivers. The habitat usually consists of well-exposed, south-facing slopes on the edge of forests. This snake may feed exclusively on slugs, although slugs appear to be uncommon in some areas where extant Washington populations are found. Dietary information is based on the long, recurved dentition and a study that found only slugs in 6 of 23 snakes examined from Oregon.
Factors that suggest this species is at risk include 1) the small number of known populations, 2) the distance between known populations, 3) the limited geographic extent of the populations, and 4) the apparently small size of the populations. However, this species is also difficult to find due to its small size, cryptic coloration and fossorial habitats, therefore the species may be more common than the documented occurrences indicate. The rank will be re-evaluated as more observations are reported.
Inventory is needed, especially in areas of historical occurrence in western Washington. Any sightings that occur outside the known distribution should be reported to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The factors that limit survival for this species need to be better understood. Little of what is known about the species explains its rarity.
Any land use that impacts the moisture regimes or the permeability of the habitat would likely be detrimental to this species. Down woody debris, fractured rock, and loosely compacted rock or talus may be important for maintaining this species and should not be removed from areas where this snake is known to occur.
In the course of his Master’s research on the ecology of Night Snakes in Washington, Robert Weaver (a Central Washington University graduate student), has found Sharptail Snakes at historic and new locations, primarily in the Yakima River drainage between Ellensburg and Yakima. Based on the 14 Sharptail Snakes he found between 2003-2004 at Taneum Creek (4 snakes), in the Thorp area (2 snakes), in the Yakima Canyon (5 snakes) and in the Terrace Heights area, he thinks Sharptail Snakes may be fairly common in these portions of Kittitas and Yakima counties.
Cook (1960), Leonard et al. (1996), Leonard and Leonard (1998), Leonard and Ovaska (1989), Nussbaum et al. (1983), Stebbins (1985), Storm and Leonard (1995), Zweifel (1954).
Personal Communications: W. Leonard, R. Weaver
Hallock, L.A. and McAllister, K.R. 2005. Sharptail Snake. Washington Herp Atlas. http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/
Last updated: February 2005