Pantherophis
Encyclopedia
Pantherophis is a genus
of non-venomous colubrid
snakes found in North
and Central America
. All are powerful constrictors and help control rodent populations.
The species of Pantherophis were previously included in the genus Elaphe
. However, in 2002 Utiger et al. raised a taxonomic suggestion to resurrect the genus Pantherophis based on mitochondrial DNA evidence suggesting that the New World ratsnakes are more closely related to the Lampropeltini than to the Old World ratsnakes . This was confirmed by later phylogenetic studies
Suggested species included:
The SSAR (2008) accepted the taxonomic change to Pantherophis
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of non-venomous colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snakes found in North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. All are powerful constrictors and help control rodent populations.
The species of Pantherophis were previously included in the genus Elaphe
Elaphe
Elaphe is one of the main genera of the rat snakes, which are found in many regions of the northern hemisphere. Elaphe are medium to large constrictors by nature....
. However, in 2002 Utiger et al. raised a taxonomic suggestion to resurrect the genus Pantherophis based on mitochondrial DNA evidence suggesting that the New World ratsnakes are more closely related to the Lampropeltini than to the Old World ratsnakes . This was confirmed by later phylogenetic studies
Suggested species included:
- Eastern ratsnake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis (HolbrookJohn Edwards HolbrookJohn Edwards Holbrook American zoologist, herpetologist, physician, and naturalist, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards....
, 1836) - Baird's ratsnake, Pantherophis bairdiPantherophis bairdiPantherophis bairdi is a harmless colubrid species found in the United States in the Big Bend region of western Texas, as well as in northern Mexico in Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. The species was named in honor of the American zoologist Spencer Fullerton Baird. No subspecies are currently...
(Yarrow, 1880) - Great Plains ratsnake, Pantherophis emoryi (BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
& GirardCharles Frédéric GirardCharles Frédéric Girard was a French biologist specializing in ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz. In 1847, he accompanied Agassiz as his assistant to Harvard...
, 1853) - Eastern fox snake, Pantherophis gloydiPantherophis gloydiThe Eastern Fox Snake is a species of Fox Snake.-Speciation:The Eastern Fox Snake is a North American Rat Snake...
(ConantRoger Conant (herpetologist)Roger Conant was an American herpetologist, author, educator and conservationist. He was Director Emeritus of the Philadelphia Zoo and Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico...
, 1940) - Corn snake, Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Western ratsnake, Pantherophis obsoletus (SayThomas SayThomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other...
, 1823) - Slowinski's corn snake, Pantherophis slowinskiiSlowinski's Corn SnakeSlowinski's Corn Snake is a species of snake in the genus Elaphe indigenous to Arkansas.-Classification:This snake was long considered an intergrade subspecies of the Corn Snake and Great Plains Rat Snake , but it has recently been elevated to species status and named to honor the memory of...
(Burbrink, 2002) - Central ratsnake, Pantherophis spiloides (DumérilAndré Marie Constant DumérilAndré Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology...
, BibronGabriel BibronGabriel Bibron was a French zoologist. He was born in Paris. Son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hired to collect vertebrates in Italy and Sicily. He classified a number of reptile species with André Marie Constant...
& DumérilAuguste DumérilAuguste Henri André Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of Herpetology and Ichthyology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris from 1857. His father André Marie Constant Duméril was also a zoologist...
, 1854) - Western fox snake, Pantherophis vulpinusFox SnakeFox snake is the common name given to two species of North American rat snakes. Neither is any threat to humans. Unfortunately, due to the striking resemblance to the Massasauga rattlesnake , it is killed by many people who mistake it for the Massasauga.The eastern fox snake is...
(BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
& GirardCharles Frédéric GirardCharles Frédéric Girard was a French biologist specializing in ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz. In 1847, he accompanied Agassiz as his assistant to Harvard...
, 1853)
See also
- RatsnakeRat snakeRat snakes are medium to large constrictors that can be found through a great portion of the northern hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and, with some species exceeding 3 m , they can occupy top levels of some food chains. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one,...
- Black ratsnakeBlack Rat SnakeThe Western ratsnake — also called black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake — is a nonvenomous colubrid species found in North America. No subspecies are currently recognized....
- Texas ratsnake
- Gray ratsnake
Taxonomy
In recent years there has been some taxonomic controversy over the genus of North American ratsnakes. Based on mitochondrial DNA, Utiger et al. (2002) showed that North American Rat Snakes of the genus Elaphe along with closely related genera such as Pituophis and Lampropeltis form a monophyletic group separate from Old World members of the genus. They therefore suggested the resurrection of the available name Pantherophis Fitzinger for all North American taxa (north of Mexico).The SSAR (2008) accepted the taxonomic change to Pantherophis