Platyceps karelini explained

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

Geographic range

P. karelini is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Description

P. karelini exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being larger than males. Females may attain a total length of 94cm (37inches), including a tail 23cm (09inches) long. Males may attain a total length of 83.5cm (32.9inches), with a tail 22.5cm (08.9inches) long.^[1]

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.^[1]

Reproduction

P. karelini is oviparous.

Subspecies

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

• Platyceps karelini chesneii
• Platyceps karelini karelini
• Platyceps karelini mintonorum

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.^[2] The subspecific name, mintonorum, is in honor of American herpetologist Sherman A. Minton and his wife Madge Alice Shortridge Rutherford Minton.^[3]

Further reading

• Brandt [JF] (1838). "Note sur quatre nouvelles espèces de serpents de la côte occidentale de la mer Caspienne et de la Perse septentrionale, découvertes par M. Kareline ". Bulletin Scientifique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg 3 (16): 241-244. (Coluber karelini, new species, p. 243). (in French and Latin).
• Latifi M (1991). The Snakes of Iran. Oxford, Ohio: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 156 pp. . (Coluber karelini, p. 104).
• Nagy ZT, Lawson R, Joger U, Wink M (2004). "Molecular phylogeny and systematics of racers, whip snakes and relatives (Reptilia: Colubridae) using mitochondrial and nuclear markers". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 42: 223-233. (Platceps karelini, new combination).
• Szczerbak, Nikolai (2003). Guide to the Reptiles of the Eastern Palearctic. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. 350 pp. .

Notes and References

1. [Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith MA]
2. Brandt (1838).
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Coluber karelini mintonorum, p. 179).