A yellow rat snake

Rat snakes are a large, polyphyletic, group of snakes from the Colubrid subfamily Colubrinae. They are extremely aggressive, though essentially harmless. There is considerable variation between different types of rat snake but most are medium to large, rodent eating snakes. Image File history File links Yellowratsnake-1-.jpg‎ Photo by Tristan Loper Originally uploaded on English Wikipedia as Yellowratsnake. ... Image File history File links Yellowratsnake-1-.jpg‎ Photo by Tristan Loper Originally uploaded on English Wikipedia as Yellowratsnake. ... In biology, a taxon is polyphyletic if it is descended from more than one root form (in Greek poly = many and phyletic = racial). ... Subfamilies Boodontinae Calamariinae Colubrinae Dipsadinae Homalopsinae Natricinae Pareatinae Psammophiinae Pseudoxenodontinae Pseudoxyrhophiinae Xenodermatinae Xenodontinae See text for genera. ... Colubrinae is a subfamily of the Colubridae family of snakes. ...

Previously most were assigned to the genus Elaphe but many have been since renamed. The validity of some genera is debatable but for the purpose of this article a more liberal taxonomic stance will be taken. Rat snakes have traditionally been divided into two groups, New World and Old World species. Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either a hierarchical classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ...

Rat snake is also often referred to in broad terms as being an inhabitant of Upstate and Western New York.

Examples of snakes found in the Elaphe include:

• Elaphe bairdi (Baird's rat snake)
• Elaph bimaculata (Twin-spotted rat snake)
• Elaphe carinata (King rat snake)
• Elaphe climacophora (Japanese rat snake)
• Elaph conspicillata (Japanese forest rat snake)
• Elaphe davidi (David's rat snake)
• Elaphe dione (Dione's rat snake)
• Elaphe emoryi (Great Plains rat snake)
• Elaphe erythrura (Philippine rat snake)
• Elaphe flavirufa (Mexican night snake)
• Elaphe flavolineata (Yellow-striped rat snake)
• Elaphe gloydi (Eastern fox snake)
• Elaphe guttata (Corn snake)
• Elaphe helena (Trinket snake)
• Elaphe hohenacker (Transcaucasian rat snake)
• Elaphe leonardi (Leonard's rat snake)
• Striped Aesculapian rat snake
• Elaphe longissima (Aesculapian snake)
• Elaphe maculata
• Elaphe mandarina (Mandarin rat snake)
• Elaphe moellendorfi (flower snake)
• Elaphe obsoleta (Black rat snake)
• Elaphe perlacea (Pearl-banded rat snake)
• Elaphe persica (Persian rat snake)
• Elaph porphyracea (Black-banded trinket snake)
• Elaph prasina (Green rat snake)
• Elaphe quadrivirgata (Japanese striped snake)
• Elaphe quatuorlineata (Four-lined snake)
• Elaphe radiata (Radiated rat snake)
• Elaphe rufodorsata (Red-backed rat snake)
• Elaphe scalaris (Ladder snake)
• Elaphe schrencki (Korean rat snake)
• Elaphe subradiata (Indonesian rat snake)
• Elaphe taeniura (Beauty rat snake)
• Elaphe vulpina (Fox snake)

Binomial name Yarrow, 1880 Synonyms Coluber bairdi Yarrow, 1880 Elaphe obsoleta bairdi Dowling, 1952 Elaphe bairdi Conant & Collins, 1991 The Bairds Rat Snake (Pantherophis bairdi or Elaphe bairdi) is a species of non-venomous rat snake, native to the United States in the Big Bend region of western Texas... Twin-spotted Ratsnake or Chinese Cornsnake. ... Binomial name Elaphe carinata King Ratsnake, Stinking Goddess, Keeled Ratsnake Size: 150 to 170 cm (up to 240 cm) Distribution: China, North Vietnam, Taiwan The common name stink snake or stinking Goddess refers to this species highly developed post-anal glands, that when picked up are frequently emptied, with a... Binomial name (Boie, 1826) A Japanese Rat Snake in Kawamata, Fukushima, Japan The Japanese Rat Snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium sized snake found throughout the Japanese archipelago (except the far South West). ... Binomial name Elaphe conspicillata Japanese Forest Ratsnake. ... Trinomial name Pantherophis guttatus emoryi Baird & Girard, 1853 Synonyms Scotophis emoryi Baird & Girard, 1853 Scotophis calligaster Kennicott, 1859 Coluber rhinomegas Cope, 1860 Coluber laetus Boulenger, 1894 Elaphe laeta intermontanus Woodbury & Woodbury, 1942 Elaphe quivira Burt, 1946 Elaphe guttata emoryi Stebbins, 1985 Elaphe emoryi Vaughan, Dixon & Thomas, 1996 Pantherophis emoryi Potts... Binomial name Pantherophis gloydi Roger Conant, 1940 Synonyms Elaphe gloydi Elaphe vulpina gloydi The eastern fox snake (Pantherophis gloydi) is a species of Fox Snake. ... Binomial name Elaphe guttata Linnaeus, 1766 The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake. ... Binomial name Elaphe helena (Daudin, 1803) Trinket Snake Elaphe helena is a species of colubrid snake. ... Binomial name Suckow, 1798 Synonyms Elaphe lineata (Camerano, 1891) The Italian Aesculapian Snake (Zamenis lineatus) is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. ... Binomial name Elaphe longissima Laurenti, 1768 Aesculapian Snake (Elaphe longissima or Zamenis longissimus) is a snake native to Europe. ... Binomial name Elaphe mandarina (Cantor, 1842) Mandarin Ratsnake Elaphe mandarina is a species of snake. ... Binomial name Elaphe obsoleta (Say In James, 1823) Common names: black rat snake, pilot black snake, black snake. ... Binomial name Elaphe persica (Werner, 1913) Persian Ratsnake (Elaphe persica) is a small ratsnake from the North-Western Iran and near the Caspian Sea area. ... Binomial name Elaphe porphyracea (Cantor, 1839) // The Black-banded Trinket Snake, Red Bamboo Snake or Red Mountain Racer (Elaphe porphyracea sp) refers to a group of rat snake species that is found in mid to upper-level elevations of forested hills in Asia, ranging from evergreen tropical to dry seasonal... Binomial name Elaphe prasina (Blyth, 1854) Green Trinket Snake, Green Bush Rat Snake or Green Ratsnake Elaphe prasina is a species of snake. ... Binomial name The Japanese striped snake, Elaphe quadrivirgata (Japanese: shimahebi) is a non-venomous snake native to Japan. ... Binomial name (F. Boie, 1827) Radiated Ratsnakes or Copperhead Rat Snake Elaphe radiata is a species of snake. ... Binomial name (Schinz, 1822) Synonyms Elaphe scalaris (Schinz, 1822) The Ladder Snake (Rhinechis scalaris) is a species of snake in the Colubridae family. ... Binomial name Elaphe schrenckii (Strauch, 1873) The Manchurian Black Water Snake or Korean ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii) exists in two varieties, black and yellow. ... Binomial name Elaphe taeniura Beauty Rat Snakes are long, slender, semi-arboreal snakes that are native to Asia. ... The fox snake is the common name given to two species of non-venomous rat snake, the eastern fox snake and the western fox snake. ...

New World Rat Snakes

New World rat snakes belong to the Colubrine tribe Lampropeltinae, and as such are closely related to Lampropeltis (milk snakes and king snakes), Pituophis (gopher snakes, pine snakes and bull snakes), Rhinocheilus (longnose snakes), Arizona (glossy snakes) and Stilosoma (short-tailed snakes). The entire Lampropeltinid group is descended from Old World rat snakes that crossed the Bering Land Bridge sometime within the last twenty to thirty million years. Antarctica Oceania Africa Asia Europe North America South America Middle East Caribbean Central Asia East Asia North Asia South Asia Southeast Asia SW. Asia Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia Central America Latin America Northern America Americas C. Africa E. Africa N. Africa Southern Africa W. Africa C. Europe E. Europe N... Species Lampropeltis alterna Lampropeltis calligaster Lampropeltis getula Lampropeltis mexicana Lampropeltis pyromelana Lampropeltis ruthveni Lampropeltis triangulum Lampropeltis zonata The genus Lampropeltis of colubrid snakes includes the King snakes and also the milk snake. ... Binomial name LaCépède, 1789 The milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) is a species of king snake. ... Species Lampropeltis alterna Lampropeltis calligaster Lampropeltis getula Lampropeltis mexicana Lampropeltis pyromelana Lampropeltis ruthveni Lampropeltis triangulum Lampropeltis zonata The genus Lampropeltis of colubrid snakes includes the King snakes and also the milk snake. ... Binomial name Pituophis catenifer (Blainville, 1835) Gopher snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats including desert flats, coastal dunes and coniferous forests, but preferring grasslands and open brush areas. ... Trinomial name Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus Daudin, 1803 Pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) are a large species of non-venomous colubrid snakes native to the United States. ... Trinomial name Pituophis catenifer sayi Schlegel, 1837 The Bull Snake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) is a large species of non-venomous colubrid snake found predominantly in the central United States. ... Binomial name Rhinocheilus lecontei Baird & Girard, 1853 Rhinocheilus is a genus of colubrid snakes commonly known as long-nosed snakes. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name {{{binomial}}} Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} Species Arizona elegans and others [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} Arizona is a genus of snakes in the Colubridae family. ... Nautical chart of Bering Strait, site of former land bridge between Asia and North America The Bering land bridge, also known as Beringia, was a land bridge roughly 1600 km (1000 miles) north to south at its greatest extent, which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times...

The New World rat snakes consist of the genera Bogertophis (Trans Pecos and Baja rat snakes), Elaphe(Pantherophis) (Corn snakes, Fox snakes and American rat snakes), Pseudelaphe (Central American rat snake) and Senticola (Green rat snake). Species Bogertophis rosaliae . ... Rat snakes are a large, polyphyletic, group of snakes from the Colubrid subfamily Colubrinae. ... Binomial name Elaphe guttata Linnaeus, 1766 The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake. ... The fox snake is the common name given to two species of non-venomous rat snake, the eastern fox snake and the western fox snake. ...

Old World Rat Snakes

The Genera Elaphe, Euprepiophis, Oreophis, Orthriophis, Rhinechis, and Zamenis constitute Old-World rat snakes. See also: Persian Ratsnake Rat snakes are a large, polyphyletic, group of snakes from the Colubrid subfamily Colubrinae. ... Synonyms Vipera - Laurenti, 1768 Pelias - Merrem, 1820 Chersea - Fleming, 1822 Rhinaspis - Bonaparte, 1834 Rhinechis - Fitzinger, 1843 Echidnoides - Mauduyt, 1844 Mesocoronis - Reuss, 1927 Teleovipera - Reuss, 1927 Acridophaga - Reuss, 1927 Mesovipera - Reuss, 1927 Mesohoronis - Reuss, 1927 Mesohorinis - Reuss, 1927 Latastea - Reuss, 1929 Tzarevcsya - Reuss, 1929 Latasteopara - Reuss, 1935[1] Common names: Palaearctic... Zamenis is a genus of snake in the Colubridae family. ... Binomial name Elaphe persica (Werner, 1913) Persian Ratsnake (Elaphe persica) is a small ratsnake from the North-Western Iran and near the Caspian Sea area. ...

Additional Note

It is worth noting that, though the polyphyletic nature of the genus is almost undisputed, many species are conservatively referred to as Elaphe sp. See, for instance, Black Rat Snake and Grey Rat Snake, subspecies of Pantherophis obsoleta. Trinomial name Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta Say in James, 1923 A Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) is a species of rat snake. ... Trinomial name Elaphe obsoleta spiloides A Grey Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) is a species of rat snake. ...

External links

• Information on a variety of Rat Snakes
• Pictures of Rat Snakes