Striped racer
Masticophis lateralis (Hallowell, 1853)
Status not recordedsnakes
The striped racer (Masticophis lateralis) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 1.36 kg.
No freely licensed photo yet
Quick facts about the striped racer
- Weight
- 1.36 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 1.52 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrubland, woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8 – 8.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What does the striped racer eat, and what eats it?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded prey of the striped racer
3 on record
- Blue belly Sceloporus occidentalis29 sources
- Tiger whiptail Aspidoscelis tigris2 sources
- Northern house wren Troglodytes aedon2 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/100897491
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/114018059
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115661638
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/237526189
- Eichenwald, A. J., Fefferman, N. H., & Reed, J. M. (2024). Potential extinction cascades in a desert ecosystem: Linking food web interactions to community viability. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e10930. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10930. Accessed at <https://github.com/aeiche01/MojaveFoodWeb/archive/
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219448942
- Fitch, H. S. 1947. Predation by owls in the Sierran foothills of California. Condor 49:137-151.
Where does the striped racer live?
Not recorded
Is the striped racer endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the striped racer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyColubridae
- genusMasticophis
- SpeciesMasticophis lateralis (Hallowell, 1853)
Synonyms Coluber lateralis, Leptophis lateralis, Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus
Other names and names in other languages (13)
- Almeda striped racerEnglish
- California whipsnakeEnglish
- užovka křovinnáCzech
- Alameda-PeitschenschlangeGerman
- Corredora RayadaSpanish
- Chirrionera RayadaSpanish
- Culebra chirrionera rayada de CaliforniaSpanish
- Полосатый мастикофисRussian
- Калифорнийский кнутовидный полозRussian
- Alameda Whipsnakeroot
- Alameda Striped Racerroot
- California Striped Racerroot
- 加州鞭蛇Chinese
Relatives of the striped racer
Other species in the same genus Masticophis.
Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
Clarión whip snake
Masticophis anthonyi
Cape striped whipsnake
Masticophis aurigulus
Sonoran whipsnake
Masticophis bilineatus
Neotropical whip snake
Masticophis mentovarius
Baja California coachwhip
Masticophis fuliginosus
CompareStriped racer vs CoachwhipStriped racer vs Clarión whip snakeStriped racer vs Cape striped whipsnakeStriped racer vs Sonoran whipsnake
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the striped racer?
An adult striped racer weighs 1.36 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the striped racer?
The striped racer (Masticophis lateralis) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.
What eats the striped racer?
Animals recorded preying on the striped racer include great horned owl. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Which animals does the striped racer eat?
Animals recorded as prey of the striped racer include blue belly, tiger whiptail and northern house wren. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0-dryad-v5
Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Striped racer (Masticophis lateralis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-racer
“Striped racer (Masticophis lateralis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-racer.
@misc{striped_racer_2026,
title = {Striped racer (Masticophis lateralis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/striped-racer},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}