Striped Whipsnake
(Masticophis taeniatus)
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Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus) |
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Color Photograph: U.S. National Parks Service
Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Detail showing white lateral stripe bisected by a dark, medial line (indicated by a red arrow)
Blue line indicates the wedge-shaped lower preocular scale in Masticophis lateralis |
Masticophis bilineatus A species from central and southern Arizona. The sides have 2 or 3 light stripes, not a single stripe bisected by a narrow black line. Underside of tail yellow, not pink.
Masticophis lateralis Black or dark brown with a single lateral light yellow to orange stripe. Range: California, not overlapping the range of Masticophis taeniatus.
Masticophis schotti Very similar to the Striped Whipsnake, but upper lateral light stripe not bisected by a thin, black line. Range limited to southern Texas and northern Mexico
Thamnophis sauritus The Garter snakes have keeled scales on at least the dorsal half of their bodies. Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus) Identification: Snake 40 to 72 inches in length. Dorsal color blue-gray, dull green, red-brown, or black. Sides with 2 or more light stripes. First light stripe bisected by a light gray, jagged line (as indicated by the red arrow in the close-up photograph on the left). Additional dark gray to black lines further down the side. Underside yellow, changing to white toward the head and pink toward the tail. Scales smooth and dorsal scales in 15 rows at the midpoint of the body. Anal plate divided. Lower preocular small, triangular, wedged between two upper labials (see condition in Masticophis lateralis in photograph lower left). Geographical Variation:
Range (see map below): The Striped Whipsnake (as here treated (see above) ranges from south-central Washington southward through eastern California, Nevada, southeastward to Arizona, New Mexico, western and central Texas. Habitat: This species occurs in a wide variety of habitats ranging from grasslands, shrubby desert, and dry mountains dominated by pinyon pine and Juniper. Food: Lizard, snakes, and small mammals. Behavior: The Striped Whipsnake is diurnal. It moves rapidly and with great agility over its territory. At night and parts of the day it takes shelter in mammal burrows or under overhanging rock faces. Reproduction: The clutch consists of 3 to 12 eggs laid in July and July.
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Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus)
Similar Species: Sonoran Whipsnake (Masticophis bilineatus) Striped Racer (Masticophis lateralis) Schott's Whipsnake (Masticophis schotti) Garter Snakes (Thamnophis species) |
Similar Species |
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