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Desert Striped Whipsnake Range Map






Desert Striped Whipsnake Video




Desert Striped Whipsnake Juvenile

Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Striped Whipsnakes »» Desert Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus)


Desert Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus)STATUS





Description: This is a long, slender, striped non-venomous snake. Adults range in size from 30 to 72 inches total length. The belly is white and the underside of the tail is pinkish or coral colored. The eyes are large and the pupil is round.


Habitat: Habitats include shrublands, arid grasslands, sagebrush flats, canyons, pinyon-juniper woodland, pine-oak woodland, and rocky stream courses. Microhabitats are terrestrial and arboreal. This snake retreats underground or into deep crevices in cold weather. Eggs usually are laid in abandoned small mammal burrows (sometimes communal with conspecifics or with other snake species).


Range: The range extends from southeastern Washington and southern Idaho south through Oregon, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, western and central Texas, Chihuahua, western Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas to northeastern Jalisco; the eastern and southern range limits in Mexico are poorly understood. The elevational range extends to 3,077 meters in Inyo County, California


Found in these States: AZ | CA | CO | ID | NM | NV | OR | TX | UT | WA


Diet: Young eat mainly lizards; adults eat mainly lizards and small mammals. Also eats insects and small birds.


Reproduction: Breeding takes place after they emerge in the spring. Females lay eggs in July, and clutch sizes range from three to seven. The incubation period is 44 to 58 days.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large and probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. There are no major threats known.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Masticophis
                     »» Species: Masticophis taeniatus - Striped Whipsnakes
                       »» Subspecies: M. t. taeniatus - Desert Striped Whipsnake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Striped Whipsnake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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