Slender Racer
Coluber gracilis
Graceful Racer is a rarely seen snake found in dry parts of western India. It can be identified by checking cream color bars on dark brown ground color on half of fore body. Often confused with Russell's Kukri due to similar head markings. Looks very close to Nagarjun Sagar Racer (Coluber bholanathi) which is found in Eastern Ghats and drier parts of south India and does not overlap with former. The main morphological difference between Günther's Racer and Nagarjun Sagar Racer are: Number of mid body rows (21 in C. gracilis and 19 in C. bholanathi), rostral as broad as high in C. gracilis while two times broader than high in C. bholanathi, discontinuous series of dark patches on posterior half of C. gracilis while no pattern on posterior body and tail in C. bholanathi.
Graceful Racer, Günther's Racer