Species: Masticophis taeniatus
Striped Whipsnake
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Colubridae
Genus
Masticophis
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Reptiles - Snakes
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Reptilia - Squamata - Colubridae - Masticophis - as a valid genus.
Ecology and Life History
Migration
false - true - false - In Utah, males migrated an average of 992 m, females 1455 m, between winter den and summer range (Parker and Brown 1980).
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Young eat mainly lizards; adults eat mainly lizards and small mammals (Parker and Brown 1980). Also eats insects and small birds (Stebbins 1985).
Reproduction Comments
Lays clutch of 3-12 eggs, June-July; eggs hatch in 50-57 days, August-September; females are sexually mature in 2-3 years (Stebbins 1985, Nussbaum et al. 1983).
Ecology Comments
In Utah, population density was about 0.11-0.33/ha (excluding snakes less than 1 year old) (Parker and Brown 1980).
Length
183
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2005-12-06
Global Status Last Changed
1996-10-30
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AZ=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S4&US.ID=S4&US.NN=S4&US.NV=S5&US.NM=S5&US.OR=S4&US.TX=S5&US.UT=S5&US.WA=S1" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - 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 (Camper and Dixon 1994). The elevational range extends to 3,077 meters in Inyo County, California (Stumpel 1995, Herpetological Review 26:102).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)