A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

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Striped Racers (Whipsnakes) found in California

Striped Racers (also known as Whipsnakes) are long, slender, fast-moving, diurnal snakes inhabiting chaparral, scrubland, open woodlands, rocky hillsides, mostly in the foothills, but also in higher-elevation mixed woodlands. Most often found moving rapidly across the ground. Can also be found moving with the head and forward part of the body raised off the ground. Sometimes found hiding under surface objects.

Two subspecies occur in California, with the Alameda Striped Racer only occurring in isolated areas just east of the San Francisco Bay.

Two other California snake species might be confused with the Striped Racer in areas where they overlap due to their lack of a dorsal stripe, so they are shown below.

Not Dangerous (Non-venomous, or commonly called non-poisonous)
Striped Racers do not have venom that is dangerous to most humans.

California Striped Racer (Chaparral Whipsnake) - Masticophis (Coluber) lateralis lateralis

Alameda Striped Racer (Alameda Whipsnake) - Masticophis (Coluber) lateralis euryxanthus

Range

Red: Masticophis (Coluber) lateralis lateralis - California Striped Racer

Blue: Masticophis (Coluber) lateralis euryxanthus - Alameda Striped Racer

Similar Whipsnake Species

Desert Striped Whipsnake - Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus

Desert Striped Whipsnake California Range Map

Red: California distribution of Desert Striped Whipsnake

Similar Gartersnake Species - With No Dorsal Stripe
(All other California Gartersnakes have a dorsal stripe as well as stripes on the sides of the body.)

Two-striped Gartersnake - Thamnophis hammondii

Red: Distribution of Two-striped Gartersnake

Keys to the 2 Subspecies of Coluber lateralis found in California and a Similar Species - C. taeniatus *
	California Striped Racer Masticophis lateralis lateralis	Alameda Striped Racer Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus	Desert Striped Whipsnake Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus

Scale Rows at Midbody	17	17	15

Light Lateral Stripes	Narrow - 2 half-scale rows wide	Broad - 1 and 2 half-scale rows wide	Bisected by dashes or a black line


Lateral Stripe Color	Cream or yellow	Orange	Cream or white


Anterior Ventral Surface Color	Yellow	Orange	Cream or white


Underside of Head and Neck	Many black spots	Unspotted or very few spots	White motted with dark marks


	Other, Less Reliable Characteristics

Light Stripe Between Eye and Nose	An interrupted light stripe extends from the nose to the eye	An uninterrupted light stripe extends from the nose to the eye.	An interrupted light stripe extends from the nose to the eye



Dark Line Across the Nose	A dark line across the scale at the end of the nose	No dark line across the scale at the end of the nose	A dark line across the scale at the end of the nose


		(Note that this M. l. euryxanthus does have a dark line across the end of the nose.)

Back Color	Back is olive - brown - black	Back is a dark, sooty black




	California Striped Racer Coluber lateralis lateralis	Alameda Striped Racer Coluber lateralis euryxanthus	Desert Striped Whipsnake Coluber taeniatus taeniatus
* Based on information from: Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Endangered Species Protection Program Description of the Alameda Whipsnake, February 2010.

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