Here's a mystery gopher from Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in southern California. The area is well within the geo range of P.c. annectans and far from known intergrade zones. This snake ( a 16 inch 08 w/c) however lookes more like a P.c. deserticola. Who better to seek opinions from than this forum? I've had it for all of 2.5 weeks, it's a good feeder and it's about three days post shed. Planning on raising it up along with my other southwest Pits to see what it looks like as an adult.
As for the issue of locale, I would have expected an "annectans" as stated. With the scale and frequency of transport these days, nearly anything is possible. Here's one possible scenario: Twenty nine Palms Marine Corps Center is located to the northeast which is well within the range of "deserticola". Possibly a transport issue with construction or other materials moved from Twentynine Palms down to Camp Pendleton containing a gravid female or perhaps eggs. Who knows??? Anyhow what do you think based on the photo below?
