Tan racer
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.
The subspecific name or epithet, etheridgei, is in honor of the American zoologist and paleontologist Richard Emmett Etheridge.
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.
Mating occurs in the spring, and a clutch of approximately 30 eggs is laid typically in the month of May, to hatch mid summer.
