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A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California


Coluber lateralis lateralis - California Striped Racer


= Masticophis lateralis lateralis


Click on a picture for a larger view




Range in California: Red

Green: Alameda Striped Racer



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Adult, San Diego County
 
 
Sub-adult, Monterey County
 
Adult, Kern County
Adult, Kern County
Adult, Orange County, © Jason Jones
Sub-adult, Tuolumne County
Adult, Butte County © Jackson Shedd
Adult, San Diego County
Adult, Ventura County, © Patrick H. Briggs
Adult side stripe, San Diego County
striped racer
Juvenile, Fresno County
© Patrick H. Briggs
Adult, Santa Clara County.
© Chad M. Lane
Adult, Los Angeles County
© Emily Chebul
striped racer
Adult, Calaveras County.
© Chad M. Lane
Adult with a wide light stripe, El Dorado County. © Chad M. Lane
striped racer  
Adult, Solano County © Adam G. Clause
Adult from Alameda County within range of the Alameda Striped Racer -C. l. euryxanthus, but showing characteristics of the California Striped Racer.
© Lisa Williams
 
Breeding Behavior
   
  Two adults mating in May, Santa Barbara County © Doug Campbell  
Feeding Behavior
Mark McCormick © shot this series of a San Diego Alligator Lizard biting onto the neck of a lizard-eating California Striped Racer in San Bernardino County. After the lizard finally let go, the snake quickly raced up a steep 15 foot high cliff up into some branches.
striped racer striped racer striped racer
Sean Kelly © shot this series of a California Striped Racer eating a male Great Basin Fence lizard in San Diego County.
Lonnie Fehr discovered this adult racer trying to eat a juvenile racer in an area adjacent to a smoldering fire in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County. Adult hidden in the grass with head elevated, eating a Western Fence Lizard, Sonoma County.
rattlesnake rattlesnake striped racer
A California Striped Racer, eats a juvenile Southern Pacific Rattlesnake -
Crotalus oreganus helleri
,
in Los Angeles County. © Anthony
Habitat
Habitat, Napa County
Habitat, Monterey County
Habitat, Tuolumne County
Habitat, 4,500 ft., Kern County
Habitat, Kern County. The large crack in this rock served as a den which also contained Western Yellow-bellied Racers and Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes.
Habitat, Ventura County
© Patrick Briggs
Coastal San Diego County grassland habitat. © Brian Hinds
Habitat, San Diego County mountains
Coastal habitat, San Diego County
   
  Habitat, San Diego County Mountains  
Short Video
   
  A San Diego County California Striped Racer sits on the ground, then races off into the chaparral.  
Description

Nonvenomous
Considered harmless to humans.
Size
Adults are generally 30 - 48 inches long (76 - 122 cm) occasionally reaching 60 inches (152 cm.) Hatchlings are about 13 inches long (33 cm.)
Appearance
A long thin body and tail, a broad elongated head, large eyes, a slender neck, and smooth scales. Dark olive brown, gray, or black ground coloring with a pale yellow or cream colored solid stripe on each side which extends from the back of the eye to or beyond the vent. The stripes are relatively narrow - "2 half-scale rows wide."(Stebbins) The underside is cream or pale yellow tapering to pink toward the tail.

The California Striped Racer subspecies differs from the very localized Alameda Striped Racer subspecies in having paler and narrower side stripes, a lighter back, distinct spotting under the head and neck, a dark line across the scale at the end of the nose, and an interrupted light stripe from the nose to the eye.

(The lack of a third stripe down the middle of the back can help distinguish this species from several sympatric gartersnake species.)
Behavior and Natural History
Diurnal, often seen actively foraging in the daytime with head and forward part of the body held up off the ground searching for prey with its acute vision. Climbs vegetation and seeks shelter in burrows, rocks, or woody debris. Very fast-moving and alert, quickly fleeing when threatened, this snake is difficult to get close to. May strike repeatedly and bite viciously when threatened or handled. Sometimes kept in a terrarium in an artificial habitat of wood chips and fake plants.
Diet
Eats lizards, small rodents, small birds, frogs, salamanders, small snakes. Juveniles will consume large insects.
Reproduction
Lays eggs in late spring or early summer which hatch in two to three months.
Range
This subspecies, Coluber lateralis lateralis - California Striped Racer, occurs from near Dunsmuir in Siskiyou County east to the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, south along the Sierra foothills to southern California and south along the coast to near sea level, to northern Baja California. Occurs east in Southern California to the desert foothills. Absent from the far north coast, the great valley, the deserts, and elevations over 7,400 ft. (2,250 m.)

The species Coluber lateralis - Striped Racer, is found only in California and Baja California, Mexico.
Habitat
Open areas in canyons, rocky hillsides, brushy chaparral, scrub, open woodlands, pond edges, stream courses.
Taxonomic Notes
North American snakes formerly placed in the genus Masticophis have been changed to the genus Coluber based on a 2004 paper * by Nagy et al. Utiger et al. (2005, Russian Journal of Herpetology 12:39-60) supported Nagy et al. and synonymized Masticophis with Coluber. This has not been universally accepted. The most recent SSAR list has hinted that the genus Masticophis might be re-instated: "Burbrink (pers. comm.) has data to reject Nagy et al.’s hypothesis but we await publication of these data before reconsidering the status of Masticophis."

Coluber lateralis is split into two subspecies -
C. l. euryxanthus - Alameda Striped Racer, and
C. l. lateralis
- California Striped Racer.
Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
None.

Taxonomy
Family Colubridae Colubrids
Genus Coluber North American Racers, Coachwhips and Whipsnakes
Species lateralis Striped Racer
Subspecies


lateralis California Striped Racer
Original Description
Masticophis lateralis - (Hallowell, 1853) - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 237

from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz

Meaning of the Scientific Name
Coluber - Latin - coluber snake or serpent
lateralis
- Latin - of the side - referring to the lateral stripes

from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz

Alternate Names
Chaparral Whipsnake
Coluber lateralis lateralis - California Striped Racer

Related or Similar California Snakes
C. l. euryxanthus - Alameda Striped Racer
C. constrictor mormon - Western Yellow-bellied Racer
T. e. elegans
- Mountain Gartersnake

T. hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake
S. h. virgultea - Coast Patch-nosed Snake
M. f. piceus - Red Racer

More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer

California Dept. of Fish and Game

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency

Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M.  Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.

Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.

Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.

Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.

Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.

Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.

Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.

Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.

* Z. T. Nagy, Robin Lawson, U. Joger and M. Wink. Molecular systematics of Racers, Whipsnakes and relatives (Reptilia: Colubridae) using Mitochondrial and Nuclear Markers. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research (Volume 42 pages 223–233). 2004
Conservation Status

The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.


Organization
Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA) None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife None
Bureau of Land Management None
USDA Forest Service None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List





 

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