A fast, slender Mediterranean colubrid with smooth scales and a yellow-and-black adult pattern, capable of speeds that match a sprinting person.
Description
The western whip snake or European green-and-black racer is a slim colubrid commonly reaching 1.8 m, with a rich olive-green back marked by sharp black flecks that form crossbars at the front of the body. Juveniles are paler grey with dark head streaks.
Behavior
A fast diurnal hunter, this racer pursues lizards across rocky slopes and bites vigorously without venom when grabbed. It rarely climbs but slips through stone walls with ease, hunting eggs and nestlings in addition to lizards. The species is sometimes called the European whip snake for its long thin tail.
Range
Found across western and central Europe from northeastern Spain through France and Italy to the Balkans, mostly in warm, dry, broken landscapes. Several subspecies vary subtly in colour and pattern across this range.
Find more snakes by letter
Racer starts with R . Browse other snakes along the same letter.
Snakes that contain a letter from "Racer":