Platyceps karelini

Platyceps karelini, the spotted desert racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Platyceps karelini
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Platyceps
Species:	P. karelini
Binomial name
Platyceps karelini (Brandt, 1838)
Synonyms[2][3]
Coluber karelini Brandt, 1838 Zamenis karelini — Strauch, 1873 Coluber karelini — M.A. Smith, 1943 Platyceps karelini — Nagy et al., 2004

Geographic range

P. karelini is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.^[3]

Description

P. karelini exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being larger than males. Females may attain a total length of 94 cm (37 in), including a tail 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long. Males may attain a total length of 83.5 cm (32.9 in), with a tail 22.5 cm (8.9 in) long.^[4]

Dorsally, it is pale gray or tan, with a series of black crossbars, which are narrower than the spaces between them. Some individuals lack the crossbars, and instead have an orange vertebral stripe. Ventrally, it is whitish, pinkish, or yellowish.^[2][4]

Reproduction

P. karelini is oviparous.^[3]

Subspecies

There are three subspecies of P. karelini which are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[3]

• Platyceps karelini chesneii (Martin, 1838)
• Platyceps karelini karelini (Brandt, 1838)
• Platyceps karelini mintonorum (Mertens, 1969)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Platyceps.

Etymology

The specific name, karelini, is in honor of Russian naturalist Grigory Karelin.^[5] The subspecific name, mintonorum, is in honor of American herpetologist Sherman A. Minton and his wife Madge Alice Shortridge Rutherford Minton.^[6]