Speckled racer
Drymobius margaritiferus, commonly known as the speckled racer, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake native to the Americas. The specific name, margaritiferus, means "pearl-bearing" in Latin, referring to the pearl-like spots on the dorsal scales.
Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe speckled racer is typically black in color with distinctive yellow and blue spotting, one light-colored spot on each scale, which gives the snake an overall greenish hue. The labials are yellow, with black sutures. The underside is typically yellow to green. They average 30–40 in. (76–102 cm) in length, record 50 in. (127 cm).
The dorsal scales, which are feebly keeled middorsally, but smooth on the flanks, are arranged in 17 rows. The ventrals number 142-168; the subcaudals, 85-126.
This species ranges throughout Central America from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Yucatán Peninsula southward to Panama and adjacent areas of northwest Colombia, occurring at elevations from sea level up to 4,750 feet (1,453 m.). Northward it is found in the coastal lowlands and lower exterior slopes of the Sierra Madres of Mexico, up the west coast to Sonora, and up the east coast to northern Tamaulipas. The northern limit of its distribution ranges into extreme south Texas, USA where it is uncommon to rare in a few of the southernmost counties of the state.
It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including forest, forest edges and clearings, secondary growth, riparian zones, savannahs, marshlands, pastures, and roadsides. It is often said to favor humid and wet areas with permanent water sources however, these snakes have been found in areas where no water was apparent and habitats include tropical dry forest and tropical arid forest, In Costa Rica it is described as " ubiquitous in all but the most humid lowland and pre-montane zones" including dry lowland forest.
