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Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Dipsadidae  
Regal Black-striped Snake
Coniophanes imperialis (Baird and Girard, 1859)
KOH-nee-oh-FAY-neez — im-peer-ee-AL-iss
Taxon Links
iNaturalist
The Reptile Database
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
NatureServe
GenBank
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

(,   Museum Voucher) (,   Observation) (,   Literature Record), (,   Citizen Science), (  Fossil)
Open icons indicate questionable records, including those with coordinate uncertainty greater than 10,000 m (approximately 6 miles). Click a marker to view metadata.
Occurrences:; 1,029 Total; 610 Museum; 419 Other

The locality database contains 8,248,810 records, and geographic and taxonomic errors exist. Logged-in, registered users may report a potential issue directly from the marker popup.
Shaded range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH. (Version: 2024.01.14.17.56.44)
Download map data (GeoJSON):
Polygon Range File Museum Literature Fossil Personal Observation Citizen Science

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
A slim-bodied snake with a lofty, perhaps honorific name.
Coniophanes — From Greek konia (κονία), “dust,” and phanes (φανής), “appearing” or “shining.” The name likely refers to the snake’s cryptic coloration and sudden appearance from dusty or leaf-littered environments—“dust-appearing.”
imperialis — From Latin imperialis, “imperial” or “of the emperor.” Possibly refers to a striking appearance or may be an honorific title without reference to a particular person.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Imperial Snake (Coniophanes imperialis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Black-banded Snake (Coniophanes imperialis imperialis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Dust Snake (Coniophanes imperialis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Black-striped Dust Snake (Coniophanes imperialis imperialis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Black-striped Snake (Coniophanes imperialis: Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53);


Selected References:
1859 "1858" Baird, Spencer F. Reptiles of the Boundary, in: Volume 2, pt. 2. United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, U.S. 34th Congress, 1st Session, Executive Document 108. 1-35pp.
1939 Bailey, Joseph R. A systematic revision of the snakes of the genus Coniophanes. Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 24(2):1-48
2019 Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53

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