View source for Coluber constrictor etheridgei

{{Short description|Subspecies of snake}}
{{Italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2023}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| name = ''Coluber constrictor etheridgei''
| image = Tan Racer, Hicks, LA 71446, USA imported from iNaturalist photo 283750000.jpg
| genus = Coluber
| species = constrictor
| subspecies = etheridgei
| authority = [[:fr:Larry David Wilson|Wilson]], 1970
}}

'''''Coluber constrictor etheridgei''''', [[Common name|commonly]] known as the '''tan racer''', is a [[subspecies]] of non[[venom (poison)|venomous]] [[snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Colubridae]], a subspecies of the [[eastern racer]] (''Coluber constrictor''). The subspecies is native to the southern [[United States]].

==Geographic range==
''C. c. etheridgei'' is found in west-central [[Louisiana]] and adjacent eastern [[Texas]].<ref name=RDB>{{EMBL species|genus=Coluber|species=constrictor}} www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[subspecific name]] or epithet, ''etheridgei'', is in honor of the American [[Herpetology|herpetologist]] [[species:Richard Emmett Etheridge|Richard Emmett Etheridge]].<ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|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).</ref>

==Description==
The tan racer, as its name implies, is typically a solid tan in color.<ref name=Powelletal2016>[[Robert Powell (herpetologist)|Powell]] et al. (2016).</ref> Juveniles have a pattern of dark brown dorsal blotches,<ref name=Powelletal2016/> which fade to solid tan at about a year of age.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} The underside is typically gray or white, sometimes with yellow spotting.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} It typically grows from .75 – 1.5 m (30 to 60&nbsp;inches) in total length (including tail).{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} It has large [[eye]]s, with round [[pupil]]s, and excellent [[visual acuity|vision]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==Behavior==
Like all [[Colubridae|racers]], the tan racer is [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] and highly active.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Its [[diet (nutrition)|diet]] consists of a wide variety of prey, but primarily includes [[rodent]]s, and [[lizard]]s.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} It is fast moving, and generally seeks to use its speed to escape if approached.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==Habitat==
The tan racer prefers [[habitat (ecology)|habitats]] of pine [[flatwoods]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==Reproduction==
''C. c. etheridgei'' is [[Oviparity|oviparous]].<ref name=RDB/> Mating occurs in the spring, and a [[Clutch (eggs)|clutch]] of approximately 30 [[egg (biology)|eggs]] is laid typically in the month of May, to hatch mid summer.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[John L. Behler|Behler JL]], [[species:Frederic Wayne King|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.&nbsp;597).
*[[Robert Powell (herpetologist)|Powell R]], [[Roger Conant (herpetologist)|Conant R]], [[Joseph T. Collins|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.&nbsp;369–370).
*[[Hobart Muir Smith|Smith HM]], [[species:Edmund Darrell Brodie Jr.|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.&nbsp;190).
*[[species:Larry David Wilson|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).

==External links==
{{Commons category|Coluber constrictor}}
*{{EMBL species|genus=Coluber|species=constrictor}}
*[http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/snakes/coluber.constrictor.html Herps of Texas: ''Coluber constrictor'']

{{Taxonbar|from=Q5149501}}

[[Category:Colubrinae]]
[[Category:Endemic reptiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Southeastern United States]]


{{Colubrids-stub}}