Elaphe
| Elaphe | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Baird's rat snake, E. bairdi | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
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- Common names: corn snakes, fox snakes, rat snakes, ratsnakes.[1]
Elaphe is a genus of non-venomous colubrid snakes found in North and Central America. All are powerful constrictors and valuable allies to man in his efforts to control rodent populations. Ten species are currently recognized.[1]
Species
| Species[1] | Authority[1] | Subsp.*[1] | Common name[1] | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E. alleghaniensis | (Holbrook, 1836) | 0 | Eastern ratsnake | |
| E. bairdi | (Yarrow, 1880) | 0 | Baird's rat snake | |
| E. flavirufa | (Cope, 1867) | 0 | Culebra-ratonera tropical | |
| E. gloydi | Conant, 1940 | 0 | Eastern foxsnake | |
| E. guttata | (Linnaeus, 1766) | 1 | Corn snake | |
| E. obsoleta | (Say In James, 1823) | 0 | Rat snake | |
| E. phaescens | Dowling, 1952 | 0 | Culebra-ratonera yucateca | |
| E. slowinskii | Burbrink, 2002 | 0 | Slowinski's cornsnake | |
| E. spiloides | (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) | 0 | Gray ratsnake | |
| E. vulpina | (Baird and Girard, 1853) | 0 | Fox snake |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
Taxonomy
Utiger et al. (2002) argued that North American Rat Snakes of the genus Elaphe are a monophyletic group and thus separate from Old World members of the genus. They therefore resurrected the available name Pantherophis Fitzinger for all North American taxa (north of Mexico).[2]
Crother et al. (2003) rejected the taxonomic change to Pantherophis, preferring to retain the current concept of Elaphe pending further review.[3]
References
- a b c d e f Elaphe (TSN 174174). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 28 November 2006.
- Elaphe obsoleta at The Center for North American Herpetology. Accessed 20 June 2008.
- Crother BI, Boundy J, Campbell JA, De Quieroz K, Frost D, Green DM, Highton R, Iverson JB, McDiarmid RW, Meylan PA, Reeder TW, Seidel ME, Sites Jr JW, Tilley SG, Wake DB. 2003. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico: Update. Herp. Rev. 34: 196-203. PDF at Southeastern Louisiana University. Accessed 13 July 2008.
Further reading
- Utiger U, Helfenberger N, Schatti B, Schmidt C, Ruf M, Ziswiler V. 2002. Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russian Journal of Herpetology 9(2):105-124.
External links
- Elaphe at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 14 July 2008.
- Pantherophis at the TIGR Reptile Database. Accessed 14 July 2008.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Elaphe". Image Credit.
