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''Masticophis flagellum'' is a
Coachwhips are thin-bodied snakes with small heads and large eyes with round pupils. They vary greatly in color, but most reflect a proper camouflage for their natural habitat. ''M. f. testaceus'' is typically a shade of light brown with darker brown flecking, but in the western area of
Coachwhips are diurnal, and actively eat different types of prey including other snakes, lizards, frogs, rodents, birds (including hatchlings and eggs), and insects (cicadas, crickets). These snakes have also been found to ingest carrion and, in rare instances, demonstrated cannibalism. They do not discriminate prey size, as they are opportunistic hunters. They have been described as "sit-and-wait" predators or ambush hunters. They utilize both enhanced vision and sensitive chemoreceptors in order to detect nearby prey. Coachwhips subdue prey by grasping and holding them with their jaws and do not use constriction. They tend to be sensitive to potential threats, and often bolt at the first sign of one, and will readily strike if cornered. Their bites can be painful, but generally are harmless unless they become infected, as is the case with any wound. They are curious snakes with good eyesight, and are sometimes seen raising their heads above the level of the grass or rocks to see what is around them. They are extremely fast-moving snakes, able to move up to 4 miles per hour. Coachwhips have also been found to adjust their space-use behavior with changes in habitat fragment size, tolerating more crowded conditions, reduced home-range sizes, and increased home-range overlap when available habitat area decreased.
File:Ccoachwhip, Masticophis flagellum 2.png, Head of an eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), Florida
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Coluber flagellum flagellum).jpg, Eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), St. Genevieve County, Missouri
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) (30712252298).jpg, Eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), Jefferson County, Missouri
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Coluber flagellum flagellum) (17504592061).jpg, Eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), Taney County, Missouri
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) - Flickr - 2ndPeter (1).jpg, Head of an eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum'') from the
"Common Snake Myths"
Austin Reptile Service.
"The Red Coachwhip"
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of nonvenomous colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...
snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
, commonly referred to as the coachwhip or the whip snake. It is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the United States and Mexico. Six subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are recognized (including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
). It is listed as a species of Least Concern by the ICUN.
Taxonomy
Etymology
''Masticophis'' is derived from the Greek words ''mastix'', meaning “whip”, and ''ophis,'' meaning “serpent”. ''Flagellum'' is Latin for “whip”. The scientific name was given due to the braided, whip-like appearance of the tail coupled with the length of the snake. Subspecific translations are as follows: ''cingulum,'' Latin for “belt or girdle”. ''Liniatula, (linea)'' Latin for “line”. ''Piceus'' is Latin for “pitch-dark”, here in reference to the color of the snake. ''Ruddocki'' refers to Dr. John C. Ruddock, a medical doctor and pioneer in laparoscopy in the 1930s. ''Testaceus'' is Latin for “hard covering made of brick or tile”, in reference to the scaling pattern of the snake.Subspecies
Including the nominotypical subspecies, there are six subspecies of ''Masticophis flagellum''. Scientific and common names are listed below. * ''Nota bene
( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''.
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
other than ''Masticophis''.
Description
Coachwhips are thin-bodied snakes with small heads and large eyes with round pupils. They vary greatly in color, but most reflect a proper camouflage for their natural habitat. ''M. f. testaceus'' is typically a shade of light brown with darker brown flecking, but in the western area of Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, where the soil color is a shade of pink, the coachwhips are also pink in color. ''M. f. piceus'' was given its common name because specimens frequently, but not always, have some red in their coloration. Coachwhip scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number ...
are patterned so at first glance, the snake appears braided. Subspecies can be difficult to distinguish in areas where their ranges overlap. Adult sizes of in total length (including tail) are common. The record sized specimen, of the eastern coachwhip race, was in total length. Young specimens, mostly just over in length, were found to have weighed , whereas good-sized mature adults measuring weighed .
Distribution and habitat
Coachwhips range throughout the southern United States from coast to coast. They are also found in the northern half of Mexico. Coachwhips are commonly found in open areas with sandy soil, open pine forests, old fields, and prairies. They thrive in sandhill scrub and coastal dunes. However, they prefer oak savannas in eastern Texas. Coachwhips have been found to tolerate isolated, buffered habitat fragments; however, habitat configuration and edge exposure may be factors which can negatively influence the viability of habitat use by this sensitive species.Behavior
Coachwhips are diurnal, and actively eat different types of prey including other snakes, lizards, frogs, rodents, birds (including hatchlings and eggs), and insects (cicadas, crickets). These snakes have also been found to ingest carrion and, in rare instances, demonstrated cannibalism. They do not discriminate prey size, as they are opportunistic hunters. They have been described as "sit-and-wait" predators or ambush hunters. They utilize both enhanced vision and sensitive chemoreceptors in order to detect nearby prey. Coachwhips subdue prey by grasping and holding them with their jaws and do not use constriction. They tend to be sensitive to potential threats, and often bolt at the first sign of one, and will readily strike if cornered. Their bites can be painful, but generally are harmless unless they become infected, as is the case with any wound. They are curious snakes with good eyesight, and are sometimes seen raising their heads above the level of the grass or rocks to see what is around them. They are extremely fast-moving snakes, able to move up to 4 miles per hour. Coachwhips have also been found to adjust their space-use behavior with changes in habitat fragment size, tolerating more crowded conditions, reduced home-range sizes, and increased home-range overlap when available habitat area decreased.
Myths
A few myths are associated with the coachwhip snake: that they deliberately chase people and whip them with their tails, that they suckle milk from farm animals, and are the legendary “hoop snakes”. None of these are true.Gallery
Ozarks
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...
, Missouri
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Coluber flagellum flagellum) (24424859264).jpg, Eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), Florida
File:Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) (39659283911).jpg, A juvenile eastern coachwhip (''M. f. flagellum''), Jefferson County, Missouri
File:SONORAN COACHWHIP (Masticophis flagellum cinculum)(7-22-10) yard, west of patagonia, scco, az -01 (11-28-10) river road, nogales, scc, az -01 (5215275097).jpg, Sonoran coachwhip (''M. f. cingulum''), Nogales, Arizona
File:Red Racer (Coluber flagellum piceus) (14045553580).jpg, Red racer (''M. f. piceus''), Joshua Tree National Park, California
File:Masticophis flagellum.jpg, Juvenile western coachwhip (''M. f. testaceus'').
File:Masticophis flagellum - Flickr - aspidoscelis.jpg, Western coachwhip (''M. f. testaceus''), Grant County, New Mexico
References
External links
"Common Snake Myths"
Austin Reptile Service.
"The Red Coachwhip"
Further reading
* Behler, John L.; King, F. Wayne (1979). ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 plates. . (''Masticophis flagellum'', pp. 328–329 + Plates 469, 491, 553–554, 556, 558). * Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis Printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Zamenis flagelliformis'', pp. 389–390). * Conant, Roger; Bridges, William (1939). ''What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains''. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Frontispiece map + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (''Masticophis flagellum'', pp. 47–50 + Plate 6, figures 17–18). * Goin, Coleman J.; Goin, Olive B.; Zug, George R. (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. . (''Masticophis flagellum'', p. 129). * Schmidt, Karl P.; Davis, D. Dwight (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (''Coluber flagellum'', pp. 127–131 + Figure 29 on p. 122 + Plate 13). * Shaw G (1802). ''General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History, Vol. III., Part II.'' London: G. Kearsley. vii + pp. 313–615. (''Coluber flagellum'', new species, p. 475). * Smith, Hobart M.; Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (paperback), (hardcover). (''Masticophis flagellum'', pp. 192–193). * Wright, Albert Hazen; Wright, Anna Allen (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (''Masticophis flagellum'', pp. 432–450, Figures 130–133, Map 37). {{Taxonbar, from=Q43373908 Masticophis Snakes of North America Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Taxa named by George Shaw Reptiles described in 1802