Coluber constrictor Linnaeus – North American Racer
Coluber constrictor Linnaeus  North American Racer

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Legend
     Exact locality, based on specimen(s) or photographs examined
     Exact locality, based on literature record believed valid
     Approximate locality based on specimen(s) or photographs examined
     Approximate locality based on literature record believed valid
     County record only, based on specimens or photographs examined
     County record only, based on literature report believed valid
     Type locality
?      Questionable and/or problematic record

Taxonomy: Eleven subspecies of the North American Racer are currently recognized (Crother et al. 2012). Three of these (C. c. constrictor, Northern Black Racer; C. c. priapus, Southern Black Racer; and C. c. latrunculus, Black-masked Racer) occur in Tennessee (Conant and Collins 1998, Thomas et al. 2000, Johansen and Ream 2008).

Distribution: The North American Racer occurs statewide, with C. c. constrictor occupying most of East Tennessee and portions of southeastern Middle Tennessee and C. c. priapus the rest of Middle Tennessee and nearly all of West Tennessee. Coluber c. latrunculus has been documented in Shelby (Thomas et al. 2000) and Fayette (Johansen and Ream 2008) counties in the southwestern corner of the state.

Museum Records by Counties: Anderson—NCSM 8494, 8500, 8506; UMMZ 115687; UTKVZC 2710.  Benton—APSU 3285.  Blount—FLMNH 114607, 119723; GSMNP 10898, 10900; USNM 169809, 226567; UTKVZC 6740. Campbell—UTKVZC 6604. Carroll—LSUMZ 43965.  Cheatham—APSU 3537, 19288.  Chester—UMMZ 98525.  Cocke—UMMZ 72251.  Coffee—APSU 17664.  Crockett—APSU 18922, 18971, 19039.  Cumberland—LSUMZ 58136; UMMZ 97876.  Davidson—USNM 23909.  Decatur—AMNH R-111219; APSU 15593; NCSM  8516.  DeKalb—SIU R-1893, R-1895, R-3374, Uncataloged (1 specimen); TTU 157, 294, 425.  Dickson—APSU 2727, 2962, 4368; LSUMZ 34754.  Fayette—APSU 11881, 15665, 15666, 16178.  Franklin—INHS 17585; MCZ 60840.  Gibson—USNM 103122.  Giles—AMNH R-101355.  Greene—MCZ 169626; UMMZ 103581.  Grundy—APSU 18999.  Hancock—APSU 19146.  Hardeman—APSU 14812, 15591, 15668-15671; LSUMZ 43943, 43944; UIMNH 17350; UMMZ 97873-97875, 97877.  Hardin—APSU 16899.  Henderson—LSUMZ 43969.  Henry—LSUMZ 47035; UMMZ 53525-53527.  Hickman—AUM 6206.  Houston—APSU 4360.  Humphreys—APSU 17571; USNM 85533.  Jefferson—USNM 93902.  Knox—MCZ 209.  Lake—CMNH 17270.  Lauderdale—APSU 19443.  Lawrence—UIMNH 17349.  Lewis—APSU 15596, 15598, 15599, 16913.  Madison—APSU 13169; UMMZ 72266, 72477, 74702,  78510.  Marion—APSU 17637; NCSM 20028.  Marshall—APSU 19212.  Maury—APSU 19227.  McMinnFLMNH 114608, 114610, 114628, 114638, 114639. McNairy—APSU 12246, 15590.  Meigs—FLMNH 11612, 114620, 114637.  Monroe—APSU 12391; FLMNH 114611, 114623, 114626, 114627, 114629, 114634-114636, 114640; LSUMZ 7792.  Montgomery—APSU 1007, 2041, 2047-2049, 2052, 2055, 2058, 2197, 2198, 3030, 3037, 5167, 5170, 5334, 5522, 5574, 5628, 6114, 6115, 17552.  Morgan—APSU 19481.  Obion—UMMZ 84412.  Perry—APSU 3255, 16160.  Polk—FLMNH 114609, 114612-114619, 114622, 114630-114632; UTKVZC 6420-6422, 6429.  Putnam—NCSM 8205, 8492, 8493, 8496, 8498, 8505, 8508, 8509, 8511, 8512, 8517; TTU 59, 60, 293, 428, 734, 865.  Rhea—FLMNH 114621, 114633.  Roane—NCSM 8499; TTU 281-286.  Robertson—APSU 2935.  Rutherford—APSU 15592; LSUMZ 39250.  Scott—FLMNH 114624, 114625; UTKVZC 704.  Sevier—GSMNP 3918, 3919, 3921-3926, 3928, 10899; USNM 185282; UTKVZC 4188.  Shelby—APSU 5290-5293, 11880, 11882, 11883, 12247, 12627, 12634, 12909, 13165, 13174-13176, 15391, 15569, 15570-15575, 15607, 15608, 16106, 16162, 16163, 16915, 17380; FLMNH 114641.  Stewart—APSU   139, 185, 367, 382, 393, 464, 628, 638, 639, 644, 651, 704, 705, 707, 709, 731, 740, 762, 766, 767, 946, 2042, 3008, 3538, 5037, 5169, 5466, 5788, 18085, 18104.  Sumner—UMMZ 3755; USNM 4449, 499053, 499054.  Tipton—APSU 12902.  Trousdale—APSU 18179.  UnionAPSU 19178.  Warren—SIU R-3375; TTU Uncataloged (1 specimen).  Wayne—APSU 15597, UMMZ 97879; USNM 103128.  White—TTU 156; UMMZ 97878.  Williamson—NCSM 8503.  Wilson—NCSM 8504, 8510; TTU 402, 538, 548, 572; UTKVZC 2324.

Literature Sources by Counties: Anderson—Jenkins et al. (2001), Shannon et al. (2005), Byrd and Fox (2017).  Bedford—Campbell (2013a).  Benton—Parker (1948).  Bradley—Campbell (2013a).  Cannon—Campbell (2013a).  Carroll—Stevens and Heddon (1970).  Carter—Campbell (2013a).  Cheatham—Smith (2009), Hopkins (2013), Hill et al. (2018).  Chester—Endsley (1954).  Claiborne—Grisnik et al. (2018).  Cocke—King (1939).  Coffee—Himebaugh (2005), Miller et al. (2005), Niemiller (2005).  Cumberland—Hill et al. (2018).  Davidson—Rhoads (1895), Hopkins (1990).  DeKalb—Harris (1967), Hill et al. (2018).  Fayette—Parker (1948), Johansen and Ream (2008), Ream (2008). Fentress—Rhoads (1895), Gentry (1941).  Franklin—McCrady and Rodamor (1967), Cameron and McCrady (1978), Yeatman (1983), Miller et al. (2005).  Grainger—Bealor and Burghart (2002).  Grundy—Cantrell et al. (2011, 2013).  Hamilton—Miller (1996).  Hancock—Daniels et al. (2012).  Hardeman—Parker (1948), Norton (1971), Norton and Harvey (1975).  Haywood—Stanley (2005).  Henry—Blanchard (1922). Jackson—Grisnik et al. (2018).  Johnson—Campbell (2013a).  Lake—Parker (1948).  Lauderdale—Flaherty et al. (2014c).  Lewis—Jacob (1981). Marshall—Williams and Foster (2012a).  Maury—Foster et al. (2013).  McNairy—Norton (1971).  Montgomery—Scott (1967), Scott and Snyder (1968), Scott (1991), Zirkle (1993), Fitch (1998).  Moore—Campbell (2013a).  Morgan—Faust and Wood (2015). Obion—Rhoads (1895), Parker (1937a, 1948), Auffenberg (1955), Burbrink et al. (2008).  Overton—Gentry (1941), DeLotelle (1976).  Polk—Ash (1945). Rhea—Dunn (1920).  Roane—Krumholz (1954), Johnson (1964).  Rutherford—Spiess (2004), Green and Cobb (2005), Green (2005), Burbrink et al. (2008), Niemiller et al. (2011), Green and Cobb (2011a), Hill et al. (2018).  Sevier—Necker (1934), King (1939).  Shelby—Parker (1948), Hassell (1961), Thomas et al. (2000).  Stewart—Jacob (1981), Zirkle (1993), Rozelle (1999), Davenport (2005), Davenport and Scott (2009). Sumner—Yarrow (1882).  Trousdale—Glorioso and Pruett (2007).  Unicoi—Campbell (2013a).  Union—Nelson et al. (2012).  Van Buren—Campbell (2013a).  Wilson—Jordan et al. (1968), Jordan (1986), Niemiller et al. (2011). 

Questionable and/or Erroneous Records: None.

Conservation Status: None.

Posted: 27 January 2011

Latest Revision: 27 May 2019


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