Product Code Database
Pantherophis is a genus of non colubrid snakes endemic to central and eastern regions of North America. It consists of the North American , the fox snake, and the cornsnakes. The genus, which contains 10 recognized species, first appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Miocene around 16.3 million years ago. They are a large terrestrial snake genus that lack subocular scales. Originally classified in the genus Elaphe, phylogenetic studies have found this taxon to be closely related to Pituophis. As with all snakes Pantherophis is an obligate faunivore with a diet that consists of small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and even insects. While many species' conservation status is categorized as "least concern", many local populations in some species have declined where some places have them listed as federally protected. The corn snake ( P. guttatus) is a popular pet reptile, due to the availability of captive-bred animals, their low maintenance and calm disposition, and the variety of color morphs. There are other species of Pantherophis that are in the pet trade, though are not as popular as the corn snake.
There are currently four subgenera of Pantherophis, of which three are extant and one is extinct: Scotophis Baird & Girard, 1853, for the ratsnakes; † Palaeoelaphe , 1938, for a Miocene fossil species; Mintonius Collins & , 2008, for the foxsnakes; and Pantherophis for the cornsnake complex. There are a few studies that suggested the possibility that Pantherophis is paraphyletic in respect to Pituophis. To maintain taxonomic stability, some of the aforementioned subgenera are reevaluated into proper genera. This, however, has not been supported by larger scale molecular trees concerning the relationships of various snake taxa.
| Genus Pantherophis Fitzinger, 1843 | |||
| Subgenus Scotophis Baird & Girard, 1853 | |||
| Pantherophis bairdi (Yarrow, 1880) | Baird's ratsnake | Southwestern United States and adjacent northeastern Mexico. | |
| Pantherophis obsoletus (Thomas Say, 1823) | Western ratsnake or Texas ratsnake | West of the Mississippi River, from eastern and southern Iowa southward through Missouri and Arkansas to western Louisiana, westward to eastern Texas, northward through Oklahoma and eastern Kansas to southeastern Nebraska. | |
| Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Holbrook, 1836) | Eastern ratsnake | United States east of the Apalachicola River in Florida, east of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, east of the Appalachian Mountains, north to southeastern New York and western Vermont, eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, south to the Florida Keys. | |
| Pantherophis spiloides (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) | Midland ratsnake or gray ratsnake | Eastern and Central United States, west of the Appalachian Mountains and east of the Mississippi River | |
| Subgenus Mintonius Collins & , 2008 | |||
| Pantherophis ramspotti , , , , & , 2011 | Western foxsnake | United States, west of the Mississippi River. | |
| Pantherophis vulpinus (Baird & Girard, 1853) | Eastern foxsnake | Eastern Great Lakes region of the United States, as well as adjacent western Ontario in Canada. | |
| Subgenus Pantherophis Fitzinger, 1843 | |||
| Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766) | Corn snake | Southeastern and central United States. | |
| Pantherophis emoryi (Baird & Girard, 1853) | Great Plains ratsnake | United States, from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south to Texas, and into northern Mexico | |
Nota bene: In this list, a binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Pantherophis.
|
|
