Eastern coachwhip

Description:

The coachwhip has smooth scales. The scales and coloration of the tail of an adult coachwhip make it look like a braided whip. The juvenile looks completely different than the adult and is boldly marked. It has a mottled pattern with dark, thin crossbands, especially on the anterior part of the body, and a long tail. The adult eastern coachwhip has a back that is dark anteriorly and light brown to reddish posteriorly. The belly usually varies with the dorsal ground color; the front half is dark and the back half is light, although some may have a uniform light colored belly. The adult western coachwhip either has a plain back or may have dark narrow, somewhat faded crossbands down the back. The ground color varies from light tan to dark brown to pinkish. The belly is cream to light gray and may have a double row of dark spots at the anterior end. (information from "A Field Guide to Oklahoma's Amphibians and Reptiles")

Habitat:

Open grassland in a trash pile

Notes:

This snake was a total surprise find. I have an area near my home that's not fenced and that has an illegal trash pile on it. I often go there to lift debris and look for snakes. It's usually pretty good for a few small species, but I've also found big yellow-bellied racers and black ratsnakes there. This time I was poking around in the heat of the day, not expecting to find much, when I lifted a pile of carpet padding. Underneath was a big, black snake and it disappeared quickly! I was thinking black ratsnake and moved my attention to an overturned couch nearby. I put my camera down and carefully rolled the couch over. There was the snake, coiled up on top of a heap of debris and rodent nests. It was a coachwhip! In my 5 years in this county I had never seen one. I ended up chasing it under another couch, to a large shrub, and back to the couch before catching up with it for photos. It only struck twice and never landed a bite on me. The hardest part of the shoot - other than catching the snake - was the fact that I found myself kneeling on a stinging plant. My left knee/shin was burning like fire while I was shooting photos. I figured I was on some plant that didn't like me, so of course I had to get photos of that as well. Using my new "Wildflowers of Oklahoma" field guide, I was able to determine its identity. You can see that spotting here: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/120...