California Reptiles & Amphibians

Masticophis flagellum ruddocki - San Joaquin Coachwhip

(=Coluber flagellum ruddocki)

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Green

Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies

Adult, San Luis Obispo County

Adult, Kings County
© Patrick H. Briggs

Adult, San Joaquin County
© Chad Lane

Juvenile, Kings County
© Patrick H. Briggs

Juvenile, San Benito County © Jackson Shedd

Adult, Kings County
© Patrick H. Briggs

Adult, Kings County, courtesy of
R. Johnson © Patrick H. Briggs

Adult, Kings County
© Patrick H. Briggs

Top and bottom of head
© Patrick H. Briggs

Habitat

Habitat, Kings County

Habitat, San Joaquin County

Habitat, San Luis Obispo County

Habitat, Kings County
© Patrick Briggs

Habitat, San Joaquin County

Habitat, Kings County

Short Video

This slender and very fast-moving snake races across a dirt road.

Description

Nonvenomous

Considered harmless to humans.

Size

Adults of this subspecies are 36 - 59 inches long (91 - 150 cm.) Hatchlings are about 13 inches long.

Appearance

A slender fast-moving snake with smooth scales, a large head and eyes, and a thin neck. Large scales above eyes. 17 scale rows at mid body. Color is tan, olive brown, or yellowish brown. Lacks the very dark head and neckbands of other subspecies. The braided appearance of scales on the tail (like a whip) gives this snake its common name.

Behavior

Very little is known about the natural history of this subspecies. M. flagellum is diurnal. Hunts crawling with the head held high above the ground, occasionally moving it from side to side. The prey is overcome and crushed with the jaws or beneath loops of the body and eaten without constriction. Often strikes agressively when threatened or handled. Good climbers, able to climb bushes and trees. Seen moving quickly even on hot sunny days, but often seen basking on roads in early morning or resting underneath boards or other surface objects. Frequently run over by vehicles and found dead on the road, partly due to the tendency of this snake to stop and eat road-killed small animals.

Diet

Eats small mammals including bats, nestling and adult birds, bird eggs, lizards, snakes, amphibians, and carrion. Hatchlings and juveniles will eat large invertebrates.

Reproduction

Presumably mates in May and lays eggs in early summer which hatch in 45 - 70 days.

Range

This subspecies is endemic to California, ranging from Arbuckle in the Sacramento Valley in Colusa County southward to the Grapevine in the Kern County portion of the San Joaquin Valley and westward into the inner South Coast Ranges. An isolated population occurs in the Sutter Buttes. From near 20 m to around 900 m. Apparently intergrades with M. f. piceus in eastern Kem County.

Habitat

Occurs in open, dry, treeless areas, including grassland and saltbush scrub. Takes refuge in rodent burrows, under shaded vegetation, and under surface objects.

Taxonomic Notes

Five or six subspecies of Masticophis flagellum are recognized. Only two occur in California, including the Red Coachwhip - M. f. piceus (or three by those who recognize the Baja Coachwhip - Masticophis fuliginosus to be a subspecies of M. flagellum - M. f. fuliginosus.)

Nagy et al. (2004, J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res. 42:223-233) restricted the genus Coluber to the New World.

Utiger et al. (2005, Russian Journal of Herpetology 12:39-60) supported Nagy et al. and synonymized Masticophis with Coluber.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

Designated a species of special concern by the state of California due to extensive land use changes in its restricted range, including conversion of large areas of suitable habitat to row crops in the San Joaquin Valley and urban development in areas of the inner Coast Ranges, both of which eliminate the snake's food base and the mammal burrows it uses for refuge.

Taxonomy
Family	Colubridae	Colubrids
Genus	Masticophis	Whipsnakes, Striped Racers, and Coachwhips
Species	flagellum	Coachwhip
Subspecies	ruddocki	San Joaquin Coachwhip
Original Description
Masticophis flagellum - (Shaw, 1802) - Gen. Zool., Vol. 3, p. 475 Masticophis flagellum ruddocki - Brattstrom and Warren, 1953 - Herpetologica, Vol. 9, p. 177 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Masticophis - Greek - mastix - whip and ophis - snake - refers to the body shape and braided appearance of tail flagellum - Latin - whip - refers to the body shape and braided look of tail ruddocki - honors Ruddock, John C. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
San Joaquin Whipsnake. Coluber flagellum ruddocki - San Joaquin Coachwhip
Related or Similar California Snakes
M. f. piceus - Red Coachwhip M. fuliginosus - Baja California Coachwhip S. h. hexalepis - Desert Patch-nosed Snake S. h. mojavensis - Mojave Patch-nosed Snake S. h. virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000. Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997. Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003. Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press. Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. Listed as San Joaquin Whipsnake.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Game	DFG:SSC	California Species of Special Concern
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks	G5T2T3 S2?	Secure
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List	None

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