Coluber constrictor etheridgei

Coluber constrictor etheridgei, commonly known as the tan racer, is a subspecies of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae, a subspecies of the eastern racer (Coluber constrictor). The subspecies is native to the southern United States.

Coluber constrictor etheridgei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Coluber
Species:
Subspecies:
C. c. etheridgei
Trinomial name
Coluber constrictor etheridgei
Wilson, 1970

Geographic range

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C. c. etheridgei is found in west-central Louisiana and adjacent eastern Texas.[1]

Etymology

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The subspecific name or epithet, etheridgei, is in honor of the American herpetologist Richard Emmett Etheridge.[2]

Description

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The tan racer, as its name implies, is typically a solid tan in color.[3] Juveniles have a pattern of dark brown dorsal blotches,[3] which fade to solid tan at about a year of age.[citation needed] The underside is typically gray or white, sometimes with yellow spotting.[citation needed] It typically grows from .75 – 1.5 m (30 to 60 inches) in total length (including tail).[citation needed] It has large eyes, with round pupils, and excellent vision.[citation needed]

Behavior

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Like all racers, the tan racer is diurnal and highly active.[citation needed] Its diet consists of a wide variety of prey, but primarily includes rodents, and lizards.[citation needed] It is fast moving, and generally seeks to use its speed to escape if approached.[citation needed]

Habitat

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The tan racer prefers habitats of pine flatwoods.[citation needed]

Reproduction

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C. c. etheridgei is oviparous.[1] Mating occurs in the spring, and a clutch of approximately 30 eggs is laid typically in the month of May, to hatch mid summer.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b Species Coluber constrictor at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  2. ^ 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).
  3. ^ a b Powell et al. (2016).

Further reading

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  • 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).
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