A relatively large Aquatic Coralsnake (Micrurus surinamensis) found near camp in Peru. These snakes are relatively common, found in the swale alongside the river and smaller drainages, where they’re on the hunt for eels and other fish, and the occasional other snake. Compared to other coralsnakes, they are heavy-bodied, with a wide head and short tail.
A bear and I look at each other across a ravine, likely doing similar things in the area … looking for small vertebrates.
A common sight around waterways south of the US are the cat-eyed snakes; mildly venomous, cat-eyed snakes (Leptodeira sp.). However, they do make it into the country in one small area of extreme south Texas. We found this Northern Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira septentrionalis) there several years ago. For friends in Arizona, these are most closely related to the nightsnakes (Hypsiglena sp.), both in form and lineage.
Vidal, N., Dewynter, M., & Gower, D. J. (2010). Dissecting the major American snake radiation: A molecular phylogeny of the Dipsadidae Bonaparte (Serpentes, Caenophidia). Comptes Rendus Biologies, 333(1), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2009.11.003
A young Sonoran Whipsnake near Phoenix. These snakes are extremely fast, daytime hunters that go after everything from lizards to other snakes. Most encounters people will have with them are as a blue-grey blur disappearing into the bushes, where it will seem to just teleport to another dimension if you try and find it.
Despite being incredibly easy to observe in surrounding mountain ranges, the Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnakes in the Sierra Estrella just southwest of Phoenix are harder to spot. They’re likely just as common, but the steep terrain and majority of prime geology for the species being inaccessible reservation land make it a challenge to see one. Kris Haas spotted this pretty one way up mountain.
A Mojave Rattlesnake from the grasslands of southeastern Arizona. This species in the area can be highly variable in appearance, from muted green tones to deeply contrasting browns and blacks, each can look very different from the next. This one is a more classic look, with dark diamonds against an olive green base color.
sThe stripe behind the eye, too, is classic Mojave Rattlesnake, extending straight back and never intersecting with the mouth. The two-tone tongue is also perfectly normal, though not always so pronounced.
