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.
Habitat Platyceps karelini is found in a variety of habitats, including shrubland, grassland, rocky areas, and dessert, at elevations of .
Description Platyceps karelini exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females being larger than males. Females may attain a total length of , including a tail long. Males may attain a total length of , with a tail long.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).
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.
Reproduction Platyceps karelini is oviparous.
Subspecies There are three subspecies of Platyceps 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.Brandt (1838). The subspecific name, mintonorum, is in honor of American herpetologist Sherman A. Minton and his wife Madge Alice Shortridge Rutherford Minton.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).
References
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. .