Coluber constrictor etheridgei
Coluber constrictor etheridgei | |
---|---|
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Coluber |
Species: | C. constrictor
|
Subspecies: | C. c. etheridgei
|
Trinomial name | |
Coluber constrictor etheridgei Wilson, 1970
|
Coluber constrictor etheridgei, commonly known as the tan racer, is a nonvenomous colubrid snake, a subspecies of the eastern racer (Coluber constrictor). It is endemic to the southern United States.
Geographic range[]
C. c. etheridgei is found in Louisiana and Texas.
Etymology[]
The subspecific name or epithet, etheridgei, is in honor of the American zoologist and paleontologist .[1]
Description[]
The tan racer, as its name implies, is typically a solid tan in color. Juveniles have a pattern of dark brown dorsal blotches, which fade to solid tan at about a year of age. The underside is typically gray or white, sometimes with yellow spotting. It typically grows from .75 – 1.5 m (30 to 60 inches) in total length (including tail). It has large eyes, with round pupils, and excellent vision.
Behavior[]
Like all racers, the tan racer is diurnal and highly active. Its diet consists of a wide variety of prey, but primarily includes rodents, and lizards. It is fast moving, and generally seeks to use its speed to escape if approached.
Habitat[]
The tan racer prefers habitats of pine flatwoods.
Reproduction[]
Mating occurs in the spring, and a clutch of approximately 30 eggs is laid typically in the month of May, to hatch mid summer.
References[]
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Coluber constrictor etheridgei, p. 86).
External links[]
- Species Coluber constrictor at The Reptile Database
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coluber constrictor. |
Further reading[]
- Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 color plates. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Coluber constrictor etheridgei, p. 597).
- Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Coluber constrictor etheridgei, pp. 369–370).
- Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Coluber constrictor etheridgei, p. 190).
- Wilson LD (1970). "The racer Coluber constrictor (Serpentes: Colubridae) in Louisiana and eastern Texas". Texas Journal of Science 22 (1): 67–85. (Coluber constrictor etheridgei, new subspecies).
- Colubrids
- Endemic fauna of the United States
- Reptiles of the United States
- Fauna of the Southeastern United States
- Colubrid stubs