Masticophis flagellum is a species of nonvenomous colubridsnake, commonly referred to as the coachwhip or the whip snake. It is endemic to the United States and Mexico. Six subspecies are recognized (including the nominotypical subspecies). It is listed as a species of Least Concern by the ICUN.
Masticophis is derived from the Greek words mastix, meaning “whip”, and ophis, meaning “serpent”.[3]Flagellum is Latin for “whip”.[4] 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.[5]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.
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, 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 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 127–183cm (50–72in) in total length (including tail) are common. The record sized specimen, of the eastern coachwhip race, was 259cm (102in) in total length.[6] Young specimens, mostly just over 100cm (40in) in length, were found to have weighed 180 to 675g (6+1⁄2 to 24oz), whereas good-sized mature adults measuring 163 to 235cm (64 to 93in) weighed 1.2 to 1.8kg (2lb 10oz to 3lb 15oz).[7][8]
Distribution and habitat
Coachwhips range throughout the southern United States from coast to coast. They are also found in the northern half of Mexico.[2][9]
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. [10]
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.[11]
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).[12] These snakes have also been found to ingest carrion and, in rare instances, demonstrated cannibalism.[13][14] They do not discriminate prey size, as they are opportunistic hunters.[15] They have been described as "sit-and-wait" predators or ambush hunters.[16] They utilize both enhanced vision and sensitive chemoreceptors in order to detect nearby prey.[17] Coachwhips subdue prey by grasping and holding them with their jaws and do not use constriction.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]
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”.[21] None of these are true.
Gallery
Head of an eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), Florida
Eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), St. Genevieve County, Missouri
Eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), Jefferson County, Missouri
Eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), Taney County, Missouri
Head of an eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum) from the Ozarks, Missouri
Eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), Florida
A juvenile eastern coachwhip (M. f. flagellum), Jefferson County, Missouri
Sonoran coachwhip (M. f. cingulum), Nogales, Arizona
Red racer (M. f. piceus), Joshua Tree National Park, California
Juvenile western coachwhip (M. f. testaceus).
Western coachwhip (M. f. testaceus), Grant County, New Mexico
↑ Mitrovich, Milan J.; Diffendorfer, Jay E.; Fisher, Robert N. (2009). "Behavioral response of the coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) to habitat fragment size and isolation in an urban landscape". Journal of Herpetology. 43 (4): 646–656. Bibcode:2009JHerp..43..646M. doi:10.1670/08-147.1. JSTOR25599266. S2CID43558183.
↑ Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 204 figures. ISBN978-0-544-12997-9. (Coluber flagellum, pp. 370-371, Figure 177 + Plate32).
↑ Johnson, Richard W.; Fleet, Robert R.; Keck, Michael B.; Rudolph, D. Craig. 2007. Spatial ecology of the coachwhip, Masticophis flagellum (Squamata: Colubridae), in eastern Texas. Southeastern Naturalist. 6(1): 111-124.
↑ Whiting, Martin & Greene, Brian & Dixon, J. & Mercer, A. & Eckerman, Curtis. (1992). Observations on the foraging ecology of the western coachwhip snake, Masticophis flagellum testaceus. The Snake. 24. 157-160.
↑ Saviola, Anthony; Bealor, Matthew (2007). "Behavioural complexity and prey-handling ability in snakes: gauging the benefits of constriction". Behaviour. 144 (8): 907–929. doi:10.1163/156853907781492690.
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. ISBN0-394-50824-6. (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. ISBN0-7167-0020-4. (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. ISBN0-307-13666-3 (paperback), ISBN0-307-47009-1 (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).
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