Coluber constrictor

Coluber constrictor
Buttermilk Racer Coluber constrictor anthicus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Colubrinae
Genus:	Coluber
Species:	C. constrictor
Binomial name
Coluber constrictor Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
Bascanion constrictor Baird & Girard, 1853 Coryphodon Constrictor Duméril & Bibron, 1854 Zamenis constrictor Boulenger, 1893

Coluber constrictor is a species of nonvenomous, colubrid snakes commonly referred to as the eastern racers. They are primarily found throughout the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, but they range north into Canada, and south into Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. There are currently 11 recognized subspecies.

Description

Racers typically grow to around 3½ feet (107 cm) long, but some subspecies are capable of attaining lengths of 6 feet (1.8 m)^{[citation needed]}. Their patterns vary widely between subspecies. Most are solid colored as their common names imply, black racers, brown racers, blue racers or green racers. Runner is sometimes used instead of racer in their common name. All subspecies have a lighter colored underbelly: white, a light tan or yellow in color. Juveniles are more strikingly patterned, with a middorsal row of dark blotches on geed a light ground color. The tail is unpatterned. As they grow older, the dorsum darkens, and the juvenile pattern gradually disappears.^[1]

Behavior

Racers are fast moving, highly active, diurnal snakes. Their diet consists primarily of small rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, and other snakes. ^[2] Some subspecies are known to climb trees in order to eat eggs and young birds. Juveniles often consume soft-bodied insects, such as crickets and moths^{[citation needed]}. Despite their specific name of constrictor, they do not really employ constriction, instead simply subduing struggling prey by pinning it bodily, pressing one or two coils against it to hold it in place instead of actually suffocating it. Most smaller prey items are simply swallowed alive.

They are curious snakes with excellent vision, and are sometimes seen raising their head above the height of the grass they are crawling in to view what is around them. Aptly named, racers are very fast and typically flee from a potential predator. However, once cornered they put up a vigorous fight, biting hard and often. They are difficult to handle and will writhe, defecate and release a foul smelling musk from their cloaca. Rattling their tails among dry leaves, racers can sound convincingly like rattlesnakes. ^[3]

Habitat

Frequently near water but also in brush, trash piles, roadsides, swamps, suburbia; it is the most common snake in residential neighborhoods in Florida. It spends most of its time on the ground, but it's a good tree climber and may be found in shrubs and trees where the calls of birds draw attention to it. ^[4]

Most racers prefer open, grassland type habitat where their keen eyesight and speed can be readily used, but they are also found in light forest and even semi-arid regions. They are usually not far from an area of cover to hide in.

Reproduction

Mating takes place in the spring, from April until early June. Around a month later the female will lay anywhere from 3 to 30 eggs in a hidden nest site such as a hollow log, an abandoned rodent burrow, or under a rock. The 8-10" (20-26 cm) long juvenile racers hatch in the early fall. Maturity is reached in approximately 2 years. Racers have been known to lay their eggs in communal sites, where a number of snakes, even those from other species, all lay their eggs together.

Symbol

"The black racer snake was adopted because it is native to all 88 Ohio counties and is called the 'farmer's friend' because it eats disease-carrying rodents."

Ohio Governor's Residence^[5]

The northern black racer is the state reptile of Ohio.^[6]

Subspecies

Northern Black Racer, C. c. constrictor

• buttermilk racer, Coluber constrictor anthicus (Cope, 1862)
• northern black racer, Coluber constrictor constrictor Linnaeus, 1758
• tan racer, Coluber constrictor etheridgei Wilson, 1970
• eastern yellowbelly racer or eastern yellow-bellied racer, Coluber constrictor flaviventris Say, 1823
• blue racer, Coluber constrictor foxii (Baird & Girard, 1853)
• brownchin racer, Coluber constrictor helvigularis Auffenberg, 1955
• blackmask racer, Coluber constrictor latrunculus Wilson, 1970
• Mexican racer, Coluber constrictor oaxaca (Jan, 1863)
• everglades racer, Coluber constrictor paludicola Auffenberg & Babbitt, 1955
• southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus Dunn & Wood, 1939
• western yellow-bellied racer, Coluber constrictor mormon (Baird & Girard, 1852)^[7]

Gallery

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  Juvenile Yellowbelly Racer, C. c. flaviventris

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  Adult Yellowbelly Racer, C. c. flaviventris

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  Northern Black Racer, C. c. constrictor

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  Northern Black Racer, C. c. constrictor in typical habitat

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  Black Rat Snake, Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, often confused with Racer

References

1. ^ Conant, Roger. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin. Boston.
2. ^ http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/wildlife/snakes.html
3. ^ http://www.umass.edu/nrec/snake_pit/pages/bracer.html
4. ^ http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/wildlife/snakes.html
5. ^ "Ohio's state symbols". Ohio Governor's Residence and Heritage Garden. http://www.governorsresidence.ohio.gov/children/symbols.aspx. Retrieved February 13, 2011. 
6. ^ "5.031 State reptile". LAWriter: Ohio Laws and Rles. Lawriter LLC. 2008. http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/gp5.031. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
7. ^ Eastern and Western Yellow-bellied Racers, COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report

• The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
• "Black Snakes": Identification and Ecology - University of Florida fact sheet
• Racer - Coluber constrictor Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
• University of Michigan, Animal Diversity Web: Coluber constrictor
• Species Coluber constrictor at The Reptile Database