California Reptiles & Amphibians

Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus - Desert Striped Whipsnake


(=Coluber taeniatus taeniatus)


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Description | Taxonomy | Original Description | Scientific Name | Alternate Names | Similar Herps | References | Conservation Status




Range in California: Red








Adult, Esmeralda Co. Nevada
© Brad Alexander
Adult, San Bernardino County
© Brad Alexander
Adult, Inyo County © John Stoklosa
Adult, Inyo County
After years of seeing and chasing but never being able to catch or even photograph this fast-moving species of snake, I stumbled across one laying still in the grass beside the Inyo County desert spring shown below, and quickly grabbed it before it raced off. I was far from my car with no snake bag to temporarily hold the snake (I was not hunting snakes...) and there was nobody with me to help me wrangle it, so after it stopped striking viciously at me (that's why we call them "nastycophis") I took several quick but unsatisfactory pictures of the snake while holding it in one hand, as seen above and below left. Next, I put the snake on the ground very slowly, to try to get a full-body shot without my hands in the picture. I hoped I'd get lucky and the snake would sit still for a moment after I set it down. This usually works with most snakes after they have calmed down. It's as if they realize that I'm not going to kill and eat them. I found a clear patch of ground a couple of yards from the nearest brush and set the snake down holding it with my left hand, my camera at ready in the other hand, then I slowly removed my hand from the snake and stood up. Before I could push the camera's shutter button even once, the snake exploded into motion and raced into the dense brush about 20 feet away. I had no chance of catching it or even seeing it again. Sometimes that's just the way it goes with snake photography. Fortunately, a few other photographers whose work is seen on this page had better luck than me.


Adult, Inyo County
Adult, SE Oregon © Jeremiah Easter
Adult, Iron County, Utah. © Jackson Shedd
Desert Riparian Habitat, Inyo County
Habitat, Lassen County
Habitat, Mono County



Habitat, 4,400 ft. Siskiyou county
  
Description
Nonvenomous
Considered harmless to humans.
Size
Adults are 24 - 67 inches long (61 - 170 cm.) hatchlings are about 14 inches long ( 36 cm.)
Appearance
A fast-moving snake with a long thin body and tail, a broad elongated head, large eyes, a slender neck, and smooth scales. Olive, blackish, brown or dark gray on top and cream below which becomes yellow or pink toward the tail. Grayish white or cream stripes runing lengthwise along the sides with narrow dark lines, often broken into dashes, running down the middle of the light stripes.
Behavior
A very fast-moving alert diurnal snake with good vision that is difficult to approach. Often crawls away very quickly when frightened, but when cornered will strike fiercely. Forages with the head elevated off the ground using vision more than scent to find prey. A good climber, often moving quickly through bushes.
Diet
Eats lizards, snakes, small mammals, birds and bird eggs, amphibians. Juveniles will eat insects.
Reproduction
Mates soon after emergencee in the spring. Males will engage in combat for access to females. Lays eggs in June and July which hatch in 2 - 3 months.
Range
In California, occurs from Siskiyou county, near the junction of the north and south forks of the Salmon river, east into the Great Basin region of the northeast corner, down the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains south into the Owens Valley and along the California Nevada border. Ranges farther north into Oregon, Eastern Washington and Idaho, and south and east into Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and extreme west Texas and south into Mexico. Occurs as high as 10,100 feet (3077 m) in the White Mountains.
Habitat
Occurs in open brushy country - desert scrub, sagebrush flats, mixed woodlands. Often found along the edges of rivers or ponds.
Taxonomic Notes
There is one other subspecies of Masticophis taeniatus - M. t. ornatus - Central Texas Whipsnake, which occurs east of the range of M. t. taeniatus.

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)
None.

Taxonomy
Family Colubridae Colubrids
Genus Masticophis Whipsnakes, Striped Racers, and Coachwhips
Species taeniatus Striped Whipsnake
Subspecies


 taeniatus Desert Striped Whipsnake
Original Description
Masticophis taeniatus - (Hallowell, 1852) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 181

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
taeniatus - Latin - striped - refers to the ribbon-like striped pattern

from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Coluber taeniatus taeniatus - Desert Striped Whipsnake
Related or Similar California Snakes
S. h. mojavensis - Mohave Patch-nosed Snake
M. l. lateralis - California Striped Racer
M. f. piceus - Red Coachwhip
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. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.

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.

This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
Organization
Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List

 

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