Platyceps karelini

Platyceps karelini
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
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
	Coluber karelini; Brandt, 1838; Zamenis karelini; — Strauch, 1873; Coluber karelini; — M.A. Smith, 1943; Platyceps karelini; — Nagy et al., 2004;

Last updated October 15, 2025

Platyceps karelini, also known commonly as the spotted desert racer, is a species of snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Asia.

Geographic range

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

Habitat

Platyceps karelini is found in a variety of habitats, including shrubland, grassland, rocky areas, and dessert, at elevations of 1,600–2,000 m (5,200–6,600 ft).^[1]

Description

Platyceps 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

Platyceps karelini is oviparous.^[1]^[3]

Subspecies

There are three subspecies of Platyceps 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]

References

1 2 3 Papenfuss, T.; Shafiei Bafti, S.; Sharifi, M.; Ananjeva, N.B.; Orlov, N.L.; Borkin, L.; Milto, K.; Golynsky, E.; Rustamov, A; Munkhbayar, K.; Nuridjanov, D.; Dujsebayeva, T. (2021). "Platyceps karelini ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T164612A1061597. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T164612A1061597.en . Retrieved 29 June 2023.
1 2 Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. ("Zamenis karelinii [sic]", pp. 401–402).
1 2 3 4 Species Platyceps karelini at The Reptile Database
1 2 Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Coluber karelini, pp. 169–170).
↑ Brandt (1838).
↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Coluber karelini mintonorum, p. 179).

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-Pétersbourg3 (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. ISBN 0-916984-22-2. (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 Research42: 223–233. (Platceps karelini, new combination).
Szczerbak, Nikolai (2003). Guide to the Reptiles of the Eastern Palearctic. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. 350 pp. ISBN 978-1-57524-004-6.

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[iucn-1] 1 2 3 Papenfuss, T.; Shafiei Bafti, S.; Sharifi, M.; Ananjeva, N.B.; Orlov, N.L.; Borkin, L.; Milto, K.; Golynsky, E.; Rustamov, A; Munkhbayar, K.; Nuridjanov, D.; Dujsebayeva, T. (2021). "Platyceps karelini ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021 e.T164612A1061597. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T164612A1061597.en . Retrieved 29 June 2023.

[Blgr1893-2] 1 2 Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. ("Zamenis karelinii [sic]", pp. 401–402).

[RDB-3] 1 2 3 4 Species Platyceps karelini at The Reptile Database

[MASmith-4] 1 2 Smith MA (1943). The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (Coluber karelini, pp. 169–170).

[5] Brandt (1838).

[6] Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Coluber karelini mintonorum, p. 179).

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