Salvadora grahamiae
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Salvadora grahamiae, also known commonly as the eastern patch-nosed snake and the mountain patchnose snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico.
The specific name, grahamiae, is in honor of Colonel James Duncan Graham, United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. S. grahamiae is found in the US states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Querétaro, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.
S. grahamiae occurs in a wide variety of habitats including forest, savanna, shrubland, grassland, and desert, at altitudes from sea level to 1,980 m (6,500 ft). S. grahamiae may attain a total length (including tail) of 47 in (120 cm). It has eight upper labials. The posterior chin shields touch or are separated by only one small scale.
S. grahamiae preys predominately upon lizards, especially those of the genus Aspidoscelis. It also eats reptile eggs, small snakes, nestling birds, and small mammals. S. grahamiae is oviparous. Eggs are laid in April–June, and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadalupe Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Patch-nosed Snake sighting in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 21 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Patch-nosed Snake in Guadalupe Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, September and December–March, the lowest months. Those are among Guadalupe Mountains National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in April.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Patch-nosed Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Eastern Patch-nosed Snake sightings, Guadalupe Mountains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Big Bend National Park (United States, about 10%) and Saguaro National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Patch-nosed Snake that you can see in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Gopher Snake (about 20%), Ringneck Snake (about 20%) and Black-necked Gartersnake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Patch-nosed Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
