A profile of the beautiful white rattlesnake.
Can white be a camouflage color? It sure can when it is peppered with tiny black flecks of color and sitting atop or amidst a number of rocks that are similarly colored.

And is there any such place?

There surely is. And Jake and I were amidst those rocks right now—or actually, right then. It was late on a night late in August in Arizona and even at well past midnight the heat was radiating from those black speckled white rocks as we searched for our target, a black fleckled white speckled rattlesnake. “Speckled” is the name of this snake, Crotalus pyrrhus, as well as its color.

It was Jake who had decided on this target, the speckled rattler. Then he had added the specific color. Sounded good to me, and after all, the locale was only 2000+ miles away from our homes. Heck. What’s 2000+ miles to dedicated herpers. I had dragged Jake farther than that to see a single species of bird. And neither of us make any special claim to our birding prowess.

So after borrowing and loading Patti’s car for the trip, off we went. A day and a half later we arrived and were searching the habitat. 4 days later, after finding a fair number of great herps and groggy from lack of sleep, we realized we had failed to find the target and since we still had a few semi-target species—rock rattlers, regal horned lizards and a stop at the wonderful Arizona Sonora Desert Museum-- a few hundred miles to the east it was time to begin our multi-stopped retreat. Fortunately we were more successful on our list of semi-target taxa than we had been on the target.

Are we going to try again? You betcha! And the next time, in the famous last words of somebody (I think it was Jake!), “we shall succeed.”

But for now, Eastward-ho!

Although rear-fanged, the red-lipped snake was once common in the pet trade.
The Red-lipped or Herald Snake, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, is a rather small, nocturnal, rear-fanged, colubrine snake from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is adult at 3 feet or less, and has large rear-fangs that have been described as “blade-like.” It is oviparous.

When surprised it is a defensive snake species, flattening the head, distending the lips, and striking forcefully. If carelessly grasped it will bite. In other words, this little amphibian eater does all possible to appear formidable.

Despite producing a venom that is fully capable of overcoming the amphibians on which it preys, bites sustained by humans have shown no signs of toxicity. What isn’t known of course is whether the bites were sufficiently forceful or lengthy for the snake to bring its rear venom conducting teeth into play. When kept captive it quickly tames and once acclimated seldom attempts to bite.

The common name describes an identifying characteristic of red-lipped snakes from the southern part of the range—the upper lips (labial scales) are red. However, this species in the more northerly part of the range may have white, cream, or even dark upper lips.

The head of this species is nearly black with an iridescent sheen (the iridescence is especially notable when the snake has freshly shed its skin), is noticeably darker posterior to the eyes, and is darker than the brownish to olive dorsum. When the snake’s body is inflated as when it huffs and puffs in indignation, white interstitial flecks in the form of narrow bars are often visible. The venter is white.

This snake, once common and inexpensive in the pet trade, is now less frequently available.

A profile of an adult male Great Plains Skink
This dweller of plains and prairie grasslands is known scientifically as Plestiodon obsoletus. It is not only pretty, but is also one of the 2 largest skink species in the USA where it may be equaled in size by the more easterly Broad-headed skink, Plestiodon laticeps.

The ground color of the Great Plains skink varies from light sandy tan to a much darker olive-tan. Each dorsal and lateral scale is edged in black or very dark brown. The edging varies in thickness, producing when minimal a light tan skink or when broad one that is quite dark in color. Over all the pattern may be appear speckled, striped, or almost nonexistent. The sides may be darker than the dorsum. This lizard does not change color or develop a strongly widened head when in breeding condition. However, males may develop a wash of orange along each side and become more territorial. Females are normally a bit smaller than the males and, except when gravid, are slenderer.

Like those of many skink species, the hatchlings are of a color very different than the adults. Hatchlings have a black head and body, white labial (lip) spots, a few small yellowish spots along the upper edge of the snout and above the eyes, and a dark blue tail.

This insectivore ranges widely in the USA from southwest Nevada and extreme southwest Iowa southward to south Texas and southern Arizona. It also ranges well into northern Mexico. Secretive, they are primarily terrestrial, can burrow, but often seeks seclusion beneath surface cover.