Long, slender, and speedy. Uniform black, dark gray, or olive; rarely with speckling of lighter scales. Labial scales, chin, and neck usually lighter. Belly yellowish, cream, or black and unmarked. Juveniles blotched, fading to uniform olive toward tail. 
Subspecies: C. c. anthicus (Buttermilk Racer), C. c. flaviventris (Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer), C. c. latrunculus (Black-masked Racer), and C. c. priapus (Southern Black Racer)
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 845 records from 40 sources: 637 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 163 observation (
), with 45 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 73 of 75 counties (), with 1 additional county having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1878 to present.
