About Contia tenuis (Baird & Girard, 1852)
As an adult, the sharp-tailed snake (Contia tenuis) has an average total length of 12–18 inches (30–46 cm) including the tail. This species is distinguished by a sharp tail spine, which is the protruding tip of its final tail vertebra. The spine is non-toxic and cannot harm humans; instead, the tail helps stabilize small prey such as slugs while the snake feeds. The snake’s dorsal color ranges from grayish brown to brown to brick red, with rare specimens colored bubble-gum pink or peachy-orange. Its ventral surface has a distinct, striking pattern of black and white crossbars. Contia tenuis is distributed across California, Oregon, and Washington in the United States, and across British Columbia in Canada, where it occurs on Southern Vancouver Island around Victoria, as well as at a newly discovered site in Pemberton, British Columbia. Adult female sharp-tailed snakes lay between 4 and 16 eggs during the summer, laying them underground or inside a burrow. When they hatch, young sharp-tailed snakes measure 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm) in total length including the tail.
