Black racer

Black racers, also called Eastern racers or North American racers, are native to North and Central America. Black racers are known for their speed and agility, or ability to easily guide themselves through any paths.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Family: Colubridae

Genus: Coluber

Species: Constrictor

Black racers have gray, steel blue, or black skin. Their chins, throats, and jaws are white or gray, and their undersides are usually dark. Their smooth scales give these snakes a silky or satin-like appearance. Black racers generally grow to be between 1 1/2 and five feet (1/2 and 1 1/2 meters) long, but can grow to be up to six feet (nearly 2 meters) long. Black racers have round pupils, like humans. Pupils are the black circles in the middle of the irisis, or colored parts of the eyes. Pupils open and close to let in light. Like other snakes, black racers do not have eyelids. Instead of eyelids, black racers have brilles. Brilles are transparent, or clear, coverings that rest over the eyes like window panes. They are the reason snakes have such glassy-eyed, dazed expressions. Black racers also have pits. Pits are two small holes located directly above the snakes' mouths. These pits are heat-sensory organs which detect highly-sensitive temperatures called infrared heat rays. The ability to sense these rays helps black racers to know the difference between an animal and its surroundings.

Black racers live along rocky ledges, in pastures and overgrown fields, in dry or wet woodlands, and along the edges of wetlands throughout North America. When they are slithering through their many different habitats, black racers flick out their forked tongues to learn about their surroundings. Their tongues pick up chemicals and take those chemicals into special organs which are inside the snakes' mouths. These organs are specifically designed to measure which chemicals are in the environment. This information helps black racers to trail prey, recognize predators, and find mates.

Black racers are carnivorous snakes, or snakes which eat only meat. They live on a diet of insects, small mammals, such as rodents, and other snakes. Like other snakes, black racers swallow their prey whole. Depsite their name, they do not constrict their prey. When black racers are threatened by predators, such as mammals, birds, or larger snakes, they put up a good fight. One of their best defenses is to rattle their tails in leaves or underbrush. The sound this creates makes their predators believe they are dangerous rattlesnakes instead of just black racers.

Mating season for black racers is in the spring. During June and July the females lay clutches, or batches, of between three and 30 eggs. These clutches are usually deposited in the burrows, or underground tunnel systems, of small mammals, such as rodents, or under rocks, logs, or wood piles. These eggs have an incubation period of about two months. An incubation period is the amount of time between the laying and hatching of the eggs. Young black racers usually hatch during August and September. When they are born their coloring is much different than that of their parents. Young black racers are gray with large brown, black or red blotches on their backs, small spots along their sides and large, dark eyes. This pattern fades as the black racers grow and by the time they are between 25 and 30 inches (65 and 75 centimeters) long, they have their adult coloring.

Black racers have a life span of up to 10 years. The black racer snake is listed as endangered due to its declining population numbers.

Bibliography

“In Search of the Black Racer Snake.” Mass.gov, 30 June 2021, www.mass.gov/news/in-search-of-the-black-racer-snake. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.

Willson, JD. “Species Profile: Black Racer (Coluber Constrictor).” SREL Herpetology, srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/colcon.htm. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.