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Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Colubridae  

California Black-headed Snake
Tantilla planiceps (Blainville, 1835)
tan-TILL-ah — PLAN-ih-seps

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 The English name was changed from "Western Black-headed Snake" to better relate to its geographic distribution relative to other Tantilla. (Boundy, Jeff, Frank T. Burbrink, and Sara Ruane. 2025. Squamata (excluding lizards) – Snakes. Pages 38-54 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

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Occurrences:; 809 Total; 488 Museum; 321 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: California

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its flattened head.
Tantilla — A diminutive form of Tantillus, itself likely derived from Latin tantus, meaning “so small” or “so little.” The name refers to the small size of these snakes.
planiceps — From Latin planus (“flat”) and -ceps (from caput, “head”), meaning “flat-headed.” Describes the noticeably flattened appearance of the head relative to the body.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Flat-headed Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: 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); California Tantilla (Tantilla eiseni: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Blainville's Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio 4(4):1-31); Lower California Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); California Black-headed Snake (Tantilla eiseni: 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.); Flatheaded Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Lower California Black-headed Snake (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Plain Headed Little Snake (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Plain Headed Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Plain-headed Little Snake (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Flat Headed Tantilla (Tantilla planiceps: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); California Black-headed Snake (Tantilla eiseni: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); California Black-headed Snake (Tantilla eiseni eiseni: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Desert Black-headed Snake (Tantilla eiseni tranmontana: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1835 Blainville, Henri-Marie Ducrotay. Description de quelques espèces de reptiles de la Californie: Précédée de l'analyse d'un systéme général d'erpétologie et d'amphibiologie. [Description of some species of reptiles from California: Preceded by the analysis of a general system of herpetology and amphibiology.]. Nouvelles Annales Du Museum D'Histoire Naturelle, Paris [ New Annals of the Natural History Museum, Paris] 3(2):233-296
1938 Blanchard, Frank N. Snakes of the genus Tantilla in the United States. Field Museum of Natural History. Zoological Series 20(28):369-376
1943 Klauber, Laurence M. A desert subspecies of the snake Tantilla eiseni. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 10(5):71-74
1966 Tanner, Wilmer W. A re-evaluation of the genus Tantilla in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Herpetologica 22(2):134-152
1981 Cole, Charles J. and Laurence M. Hardy. Systematics of North American colubrid snakes related to Tantilla planiceps (Blainville). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 171:199-284
1982 Wilson, Larry David. Tantilla. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (307):1-4
1983 Cole, Charles J. and Hardy, Laurence M. Tantilla planiceps.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (319):1-2
2014 Wilson, Larry D. and Vincente Mata-Silva Snakes of the genus Tantilla (Squamata: Colubridae) in Mexico: Taxonomy, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1(1):5-95
2024 Alvarez, Jeff A. and Christopher D. Vang Distribution of the Western Black-Headed Snake (Tantilla planiceps) in California: Implications for management. Western North American Naturalist 84(2):175-187

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 10 August 2026 03:02 CT