THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Colubridae  

Desert Coachwhip
Masticophis piceus (Cope, 1892)

Current SSAR Comments:
See comments under M. flagellum. The epithet piceum was introduced by Cope (1875, Bulletin of the United States National Museum 1: 1–104) as a nomen nudum. It was formally proposed by Cope (1892, Proceedings of the United States National Museum 14: 589–694), in an issue dated "1891". Crombie (1994, Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service (101): 40), gives the date of Cope’s paper in which the formal description appeared as 28 March 1892. Using molecular and morphological data, O’Connell and Smith (2018, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 127: 356–366 ), recognized populations west of the Cochise Filter Barrier as a distinct species, M. piceus. They recognized the named subspecies as evolutionary lineages within each species, though they did not evaluate the subspecies ruddocki. See also Myers et al. (2017, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 127: 356–366) and Myers et al. (2019, Molecular Ecology : 1–14) also found the division of these lineages occurring at the Cochise Filter Barrier using mtDNA and genome-scale data. The English name was modified to differentiate this species from the other species called “Coachwhips.”

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.18.16.45.29)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.87 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1875 Cope, Edward D. Check-list of North American Batrachia and Reptilia; with a systematic list of the higher groups, and an essay on geographical distribution. Based on the specimens contained in the U.S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 1():1-104
1892 Cope, Edward D. A critical review of the characters and variations of the snakes of North America. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 14():589-694
1994 Crombie, Ronald I. Herpetological publications of the National Museum of Natural History (USNM). 1853-1994. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service (101):40

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Wednesday 15 January 2025 19:19 CT