Tweeters,

My brother, Mike Stepniewski just found a small (8") road killed Night
Snake (Hypsiglena torquata) on a paved road paralleling the Union Gap Canal
north of Wapato WA (T12N R19E Sec. 26). According to the GAP volume on
Reptiles and Amphibians, the Rattlesnake Hills a quarter mile north of here
are modeled "Core" habitat, but apparently no records are mapped for Yakima
County (also checked Nussbaum et al. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific
Northwest).

Juvenile dispersal from suitable habitat might explain this snakes
occurrence in seemingly atypical habitat.

I know this is an off-topic subject, but I've noted some herptelogical
posts on Tweeters before, so know there are folks interested in these
creatures on Tweeters. Besides, these Night Snakes are
interesting...apparently they are mildly venemous, are never seen abroad
during the day (have vertical pupils), and like lizards as prey. But,
aren't lizards mostly diurnal? So...when to predator and prey get to meet
each other? As lizards are also fairly scarce (both numerically and as
percentage of biomass) at this latitude; this might explain why this snake
is at the edge of its range here.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA