I found this little guy in the desert just north of G.Negro and am hoping for a positive species ID. It was about two feet long, skinny and mostly
black except for the head. Any snake experts out there? Two suggestions so far have been gopher snake and black racer
Udo - 3-9-2017 at 09:51 AM
Great find!!!David K - 3-9-2017 at 10:20 AM
It looks like a Gopher Snake?
Here's a great book to have with you, in Baja:
[Edited on 3-10-2017 by David K]DavidT - 3-9-2017 at 11:25 AM
That's Lt. Dan
He ain't got no legs ehall - 3-9-2017 at 01:37 PM
That's funny. Thanks for the laugh.Russ - 3-9-2017 at 02:12 PM
I can't remember the name but I asked awhile ago and was told. The looked it up to confirm it. Sorry David, not a gopher snake. Doesn't have the
modeling like a rattler. Maybe whip snake? I'll look.
edit: similar to the whipsnake but I don't see the yellow stripe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_whipsnake .... still looking
**gopher snake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pituophis_catenifer
edit: Here's the one I had in my yard. I think they're the same.
[Edited on 3-9-2017 by Russ]DENNIS - 3-9-2017 at 02:18 PM
That species is called Joe Just Joe. Stomp it if you come across it again.mtgoat666 - 3-9-2017 at 02:29 PM
Bulging eyes, Looks like a night snakeRuss - 3-9-2017 at 02:43 PM
excellent Russ. That sure looks like it.David K - 3-9-2017 at 03:19 PM
OK, but the coachwhip I photographed was mostly solid in color. Philodog's looks a lot more like a gopher snake in the book... I will scan and post
the two.
Until then, here is a coachwhip I photographed by Rancho San Gregorio, a few miles SE of San Borja:
Coachwhip
David K - 3-9-2017 at 03:38 PM
Gopher Snake
David K - 3-9-2017 at 03:41 PM
BajaBlanca - 3-9-2017 at 03:49 PM
beautiful snake whatever it is!AKgringo - 3-9-2017 at 03:53 PM
Looks like it is from the 'reptilia slitherin' group!David K - 3-9-2017 at 03:55 PM
Looks like it is from the 'reptilia slitherin' group!
Is that from Harry Potter?
Well I put on the sorting hat, and that is the way it came out!Russ - 3-9-2017 at 04:48 PM
Wow, David you brought out the different patterns and colorations of the snakes. David K - 3-9-2017 at 05:03 PM
What do you think Russ? I mean, it looks like those patterns are on both? The photo I took of a Coachwhip was in 2001, and the thing moved FAST! I was
lucky to get that one shot. I remember it being just dark, one color, but even in my disposable camera shot, I tink I see some of that pattern near
the head?toronja - 3-9-2017 at 05:33 PM
If you look at the photos in the other link posted (http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.fuliginosus.ht...) you can see that coachwhips can have that patterning along their sides,
especially the juveniles, along with the solid dark phase dorsal coloring.
It doesn't seem like gopher snakes have that solid dark back, but if anyone has pictures/guide to the contrary, please share.bajabuddha - 3-9-2017 at 09:51 PM
There's a very large lava flow area (most of NM, as a fact) on Ted Turner's Armendaris Ranch, and several creatures have adapted a blacker-than-usual
tint to their flesh due to their natural environment.... and no, not in just the last 4,600 years. It's called Evolution. Baja is covered mostly in
a basaltic 'cap' from the volcanism that happened when it split from mainland. Many creatures, especially reptiles have changed their colors and
adapted to their environment over millennia, and as ^ many pics already posted show, each species can adapt to different colors in different environs.
Many guesses are good. Any true herpetologists out there?
Personally I think its' name is either Lt. Dan, or Barbara... my 1st ex-wife. Russ - 3-10-2017 at 05:25 AM
David K, I am no expert for sure. You have shown some really wild variations of of both that I never encountered before. So I'm going to pass at
telling you what it is. However I'm calling it a Baja coachwhip.Enrique2012 - 3-10-2017 at 10:00 AM
It's a common racer, looks to be a juvenile from the coloring, and is often referred to as a black racer.
Although the racer looks similar to the coachwhip, it's actually a different species. It looks nothing like a gopher snake.
In McPeak's book, the only kind of Racer, is a Striped Racer:
David K - 3-10-2017 at 10:07 AM
[Edited on 3-10-2017 by David K]Russ - 3-10-2017 at 11:00 AM
One of the URL's I posted said the racers are just another common name for the coachwips.David K - 3-10-2017 at 11:10 AM
Thanks for that Russ... Yes, a Coachwhip looks closer than a Striped Racer.philodog - 3-10-2017 at 11:48 AM
Coachwhip sounds good to me. It definitely had no side stripe. Thanks for the research and knowledge!tehag - 3-10-2017 at 07:22 PM
Baja California Coachwhip - Masticophis fuliginosus - Chirrionera
These three 6-footers were in a storm drain together a couple of years ago. As one can see, they are not exactly alike. They have a mottled appearance
from nose tip to about 8 to 10 inches back and then are fairly solidly colored the rest of their length.
Racers and Coachwhips are all Masticophis.
David K - 3-10-2017 at 09:03 PM
So, is that what the snake was in the first photos, tehag?tehag - 3-10-2017 at 09:35 PM
Yes DK, I believe so.marv sherrill - 3-12-2017 at 06:52 PM
It's still a black racer - we have lots of them at our house on the beach in LA Bay - (coachwhip is also used as a common name, but usually for the
red racer) - Head same thickness as the neck, mottled coloration in the neck area, and holds its head up as is travels at a good clip. They are not
constrictors and therefore cannot kill mice etc, but prey mostly on lizards and smaller snakes.Nashville Frank - 3-14-2017 at 09:32 PM
I found this little guy in the desert just north of G.Negro and am hoping for a positive species ID. It was about two feet long, skinny and mostly
black except for the head. Any snake experts out there? Two suggestions so far have been gopher snake and black racer
When I first saw it, it made me think gopher snake from my Arizona and California days.
But, then I ran across this common description of gopher snakes:
"A dark stripe runs from in front of the eye to the angle of the jaw"
This is missing in the mystery snake.
Master Jeff - 4-9-2017 at 12:16 AM
Author, you are so brave to make these pics so close!! I am such a coward, can't stand snakes and spiders. Pappy Jon - 4-9-2017 at 06:29 AM
