You are here » home › advanced search › Pantherophis obsoletus

Pantherophis obsoletus (SAY, 1823)

IUCN Red List - Pantherophis obsoletus - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Pantherophis obsoletus?

Add your own observation of
Pantherophis obsoletus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Lampropeltini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Western Rat Snake, Black Rat snake, Pilot Black Snake (obsoleta)
E: Texas Rat Snake (lindheimeri)
E: Yellow Rat Snake (quadrivittata)
E: Everglades Ratsnake (rossalleni)
G: Erdnatter 
SynonymColuber obsoletus SAY 1823: 140
Coluber reticularis DAUDIN 1803 (part., see comment)
Coluber obsoletus HOLBROOK 1842 (fide GARMAN 1884)
Scotophis confinis BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 74
Scotophis laetus BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 77
Georgia obsoleta — BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 158
Scotophis Lindheimerii BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 74
Spilotes obsoletus — GARMAN 1884: 48
Elaphis obsoletus — GARMAN 1884: 54
Elaphis obsoletus var. Lindheimerii — GARMAN 1884: 54
Scotophis lindheimerii — GARMAN 1887: 126
Coluber obsoletus — BOULENGER 1894: 50
Coluber confinis — COPE 1900: 829
Coluber obsoletus — BROWN 1901: 47
Elaphe obsoleta confinis — DUNN 1920: 136
Elaphe obsoleta confinis — FORCE 1928
Elaphe obsoleta confinis — ALLEN 1932
Elaphe obsoleta confinis — BURT 1933
Elaphe obsoleta — BURT 1935
Elaphe obsoleta quadravittata — MEHRTENS 1987 (in error)
Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 197
Elaphe obsoleta lindheimerii CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 199
Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata — PALMER & BRASWELL 1995
Elaphe obsoleta — SCHULZ 1996
Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta — CROTHER 2000: 62
Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri — CROTHER 2000: 62
Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 379
Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 383
Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 388
Pantherophis obsoletus — UTIGER et al. 2002
Elaphe obsoleta — ERNST & ERNST 2003: 115
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri — SCHMIDT 2004
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri — HALLMEN 2005
Pantherophis obsoletus — BÖHME 2005
Pantherophis obsoletus — POTTS & COLLINS 2005
Pituophis obsoletus — BURBRINK 2007
Scotophis obsoletus — COLLINS & TAGGART 2008
Pantherophis obsoletus — PYRON & BURBRINK 2009
Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus — MENSE 2010
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri — LAITA 2013
Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittata — LAITA 2013
Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus — SACHSSE 2014
Pantherophis obsoletus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 529
Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus — HILLIS 2022
Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittatus — HILLIS 2022
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri — HILLIS 2022 
DistributionC USA (west of the Mississippi River from S Louisiana along the Gulf Coast to S Texas, west to C Texas on the Edward’s Plateau, and through Oklahoma, C and E Kansas, SE Nebraska, SE Iowa, and extreme SE Minnesota)(fide BURBRINK 2001, Hammerson 2019, IUCN)

Type locality: “on the Missouri River from the vicinity of Isle au Vache [Cow Island] to Council Bluff” (Say, 1823); restricted to the vicinity of Cow Island, Leavenworth County, Kansas, 39.425296°, -94.962343° (Dowling 1952, Taggart 2021).

lindheimeri: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana. Type locality: “New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: ANSP (PM), one specimen 1515 mm, 3 specimens total, present location unknown fide Dowling, 1952b: 4.
Holotype: (lost), paratype: USNM 1734 (skin only); note that USNM 1733 is not a type although some authors said so (see Pyron & Burbrink 2021 for a discussion) [Scotophis lindheimeri] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (682 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentHybrids: BRÖER (1977) reports a hybrid between E. guttata guttata and E. obsoleta quadrivittata. Bechtel & Mountain (1960) report hybrids between Elaphe guttata and E. obsoleta rossaleni. Gibbs et al. (2006) showed with denser sampling that eastern and central lineages exhibit substantial genetic exchange along a northern contact zone within Pantherophis obsoletus s.l. A complete genome of Pantherophis alleghaniensis was shown to be a hybrid of P. obsoletus and P. alleghaniensis (Burbrink et al. 2023).

Distribution: not in Wisconsin (CNAH online, 2010).

Colour images: various subspecies in STANKOWSKI (1986) and SCHWEIGER (1995).

Subspecies: Elaphe obsoleta deckerti and E. o. parallela are not recognized as subspecies any more (CROTHER 2000). BURBRINK (2001) doesn’t recognize any subspecies of E. obsoleta but elevates some of its clades to species status. Illustration of E. o. lindheimeri in SCHMIDT (2004). Hillis 2022 strongly suggested to maintain previously recognized subspecies within P. obsoletus, given that they broadly intergrade, namely obsoletus, lindheimeri, alleghaniensis, quadrivittatus, and spiloides.

Habitat: partly arboreal (Harrington et al. 2018).

Synonymy: Coluber reticularis DAUDIN 1803 is a binomical based on La Cépède (1789) name ‘La réticulaire’, but unavailable because the latter was suppressed by ICZN opinion 1463. See Pyron et al. 2021 for details. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin obsoletus, worn-out, dilapidated; hackneyed; common, ordinary. [“...Body black above, beneath whitish with large subquadrate black spots, which are confluent and pale bluish towards the tail...”]. 
References
  • Allen, E. Ross; Neill, Wilfred T. 1950. The life history of the Everglades rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni. Herpetologica 6 (5): 109-112 - get paper here
  • Allen, Morrow J. 1932. A survey of the Amphibians and reptiles of Harrison County, Mississippi. American Museum Novitates (542): 1-20 - get paper here
  • Baillie, Jonathan E. M.; Janine Griffiths, Samuel T. Turvey, Jonathan Loh and Ben Collen (eds.) 2010. Evolution Lost: Status and Trends of the World’s Vertebrates. Zoological Society of London, United Kingdom, 95 pp.
  • Baird, S. F. and C. Girard. 1853. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1.-Serpents. Smithsonian Inst., Washington, xvi + 172 pp. - get paper here
  • Barbour, Thomas; Carr, F., Jr 1940. Notes on Elaphe and a new species. Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 8: 337-342
  • Bechtel, H.B. & Mountain, J. 1960. Interspecific Hybridization between Two Snakes of the Genus Elaphe. Copeia 1960 (2): 151-153 - get paper here
  • BECKHAM, CHARLES 2013. PANTHEROPHIS OBSOLETUS OBSOLETUS (black rat snake): FEEDING OBSERVATION. Herpetological Bulletin (125) - get paper here
  • Blake, Hugh 1993. The Texas rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri). Vivarium 4 (6): 15-18
  • Blouin-Demers, Gabriel, Laura P. G. Bjorgan and Patrick J. Weatherhead 2007. Changes in habitat use and movement patterns with body size in black ratsnakes, Elaphe obsoleta. Herpetologica 63 (4): 421-429 - get paper here
  • Blouin-Demers, Gabriel; Gibbs, Lisle H. 2003. Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta). Molecular Ecology Notes 3 (1): 98-99 - get paper here
  • Bogosian, Victor; Eric C. Hellgren, and Raymond W. Moody 2012. Assemblages of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Mammals on an Urban Military Base in Oklahoma. Southwestern Naturalist 57 (3): 277-284. - get paper here
  • Böhme, W. 2005. Der “Savannah River Ecology Site” und seine herpetologischen Highlights. Herpetofauna 25 (142): 13-21 - get paper here
  • Boulenger, George A. 1894. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London, xi, 382 pp. - get paper here
  • Bröer, W. 1978. Bastarde bei zwei Elaphe-Arten. Salamandra 14 (2): 63-68 - get paper here
  • Brown, A.E. 1901. A review of the Genera and Species of American Snakes, North of Mexico. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 53: 10-110 - get paper here
  • Buckner, Sandra D.;Franz, Richard 1994. Elaphe obsoleta (rat snake). Bahamas: Little Bahama Bank. Herpetological Review 25 (4): 166 - get paper here
  • Burbrink, F. T., Harrington, S. M., Bobo, D., & Myers, E. A. 2023. Considering admixture when producing draft genomes: an example in North American ratsnakes (P. alleghaniensis/P. obsoletus). G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, jkad113 - get paper here
  • Burbrink, Frank T. 2001. Systematics of the Eastern Ratsnake complex (Elaphe obsoleta). Herpetological Monographs 15: 1-53 - get paper here
  • Burbrink, Frank T. and Robin Lawson 2007. How and when did Old World ratsnakes disperse into the New World? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43 (1): 173-189 - get paper here
  • Burbrink, Frank T. Marcelo Gehara, Alexander D. McKelvy, and Edward A. Myers. 2020. Resolving spatial complexities of hybridization in the context of the gray zone of speciation in North American ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus complex). Evolution 75(2): 260–277
  • BURBRINK, FRANK T.; R. ALEXANDER PYRON; MARCELO GEHARA; ALEXANDER D. McKELVY; EDWARD A. MYERS 2021. The Corrected Taxonomic History of the North American Ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus Complex). Herpetological Review 52 (3): 537–547
  • Burns, Ashley E. & David A. Penning 2021. Is There Always a Need for Speed? Testing for Differences in the Striking Behavior of Western Ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) When Encountering Predators and Prey. Journal of Herpetology 55 (1): 55-61 - get paper here
  • Burt, Charles E. 1933. A collection of amphibians and reptiles from southern Missouri. American Midland Naturalist 14 (2): 170-173 - get paper here
  • Burt, Charles E. 1933. A contribution to the herpetology of Kentucky. American Midland Naturalist 14 (6): 669-679 - get paper here
  • Burt, Charles E. 1935. Further records of the ecology and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the middle west. American Midland Naturalist 16 (3): 311-336 - get paper here
  • Camper, Jeffrey D. 2019. The Reptiles of South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press, 288 pp. [review in Copeia 107 (3): 590, 2019] - get paper here
  • Chiavacci, Scott J. and James C. Bednarz. 2013. Pantherophis obsoletus (Texas ratsnake) diet and feeding behavior. Herpetological Review 44 (3): 525 - get paper here
  • Christman, S. P. 1980. Patterns of geographic variation in Florida snakes. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum of Biological Sciences 25 (3): 1 (157?)-256 - get paper here
  • Collins, J.T. & Collins, S.L. 2009. A pocket guide to Kansas snakes, 2nd ed. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, 69 pp.
  • Collins, J.T. & Collins, S.L. 2010. A pocket guide to Kansas snakes, 3rd ed. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, 69 pp.
  • Collins, Joseph T. & Travis W. Taggart 2008. An alternative classification of the New World Rat Snakes (genus Pantherophis [Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae]). Journal of Kansas Herpetology (26): 16-18 - get paper here
  • Conant, Roger 1938. The Reptiles of Ohio. American Midland Naturalist 20 (1): 1-200 - get paper here
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Cope, E.D. 1900. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Ann. Rep. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1898: 153-1270 - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • DeGregorio, Brett A.; Patrick J. Weatherhead, Tracey D. Tuberville, and Jinelle H. Sperry 2013. Time in Captivity Affects Foraging Behavior of Ratsnakes: Implications for Translocation. Herp. Cons. Biol. 8 (3) - get paper here
  • DeGregorio, Brett; Gabriel Blouin-Demers, Gerardo Carfagno, J. W. Gibbons, Stephen J Mullin Mullin, Jinelle H. Sperry, J.D. Willson, Kenneth Wray, Patrick J Weatherhead 2018. Geographic Variation in Body Size and Sexual Size Dimorphism of North American Ratsnakes (Pantherophis spp. sensu lato). Canadian Journal of Zoology - get paper here
  • Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas, second edition. Texas A&M University Press, 421 pp.
  • Dowling, H. G. 1952. A taxonomic study of the ratsnakes, genus Elaphe Fitzinger, IV. A checklist of the American forms. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan No. 541, 12 pp. - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C., G. BIBRON & A.H.A. DUMÉRIL 1854. Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles. Vol. 7 (partie 1). Paris, xvi + 780 S. - get paper here
  • Dury, R. 1932. Notes on Reptiles and Amphibians From Clifty Falls State Park, Jefferson County, Indiana. Proc. Jr. Soc. Nat. Hist. Cincinnati 3 (2): 23-26
  • Elmberg, J. 1980. Herpetological observations 77-78 [in Vernon county, Wisconsin]. Fältbiologerna Umea.
  • Enge, Kevin M. 2009. Venomous and non-venomous snakes of Florida. Publication of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. 16 pp.
  • Ernst, C.H. & Ernst, E.M. 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, 668 pp.
  • Ernst, C.H., & Barbour, R.W. 1989. Snakes of eastern North America. George Mason Univ. Press, Fairfax, VA 282 pp.
  • Eurich, Matthias & Katja Klier-Heil 2021. Haltung und Zucht der Kükennatter (Pantherophis obsoletus quadrivittata). Elaphe 2021 (2): 78-81
  • Ferguson, G. W.; D. T. Roberts, R. Hartdegen, W. H. Gehrmann, L. A. Mitchell & B. Lawrence 2019. SEASONAL ACTIVITY AND POPULATION FLUCTUATIONS OF A FREE-RANGING POPULATION OF THE RAT SNAKE PANTHEROPHIS OBSOLETUS INHABITING THE DALLAS ZOO, TEXAS The Southwestern Naturalist Sep 2019 Vol. 64, No. 3-4: 173-179 - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S. 1963. Natural history of the black rat snake (Elaphe o. obsoleta) in Kansas. Copeia 1963 (4): 649-658 - get paper here
  • Garman, Samuel 1884. The reptiles and batrachians of North America. Mem. Mus. comp. Zool, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 8 (3): xxxiv + 185 pp. [1883] [CNAH reprint 10] - get paper here
  • Gibbs, H Lisle; Sarah J. Corey, Gabriel Blouin-Demers, Kent A. Prior and Patrick J. Weatherhead 2006. HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN MTDNA-DEFINED PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC LINEAGES OF BLACK RAT SNAKES (PANTHEROPHIS SP.). Molecular Ecology 15 (12) - get paper here
  • GODLEY, J. S., J. L. HOFKES, AND C. M. REILLY 2020. Minimum Density Estimates of Terrestrial Snakes in the Munson Sandhills Adjoining Apalachicola National Forest, Florida. Herpetological Review 51: 221 - 226.
  • Green, N.B., & Pauley, T.K. 1987. Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia. Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 241 pp.
  • GROVES, J. 1966. Notes on a Severed Black Rat Snake, Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 2 (3): 9 - get paper here
  • Guyer, Craig; Mark A. Bailey, and Robert H. Mount 2018. Lizards and snakes of Alabama. University of Alabama Press, 397 pp. - get paper here
  • Hallmen, M. 2005. Farb- und Zeichnungszuchten in der Terraristik. Reptilia (Münster) 10 (55): 16-22 - get paper here
  • Hallmen, M. 2006. Selective Breeding for color and pattern. Reptilia (GB) (44): 12-18 - get paper here
  • Hallowell, E. 1856. Notice of a collection of reptiles from Kansas and Nebraska, presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences by Dr. Hammond, U.S.A. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 8: 238-253 - get paper here
  • Hanscom, R. J., Higham, T. E., Ryan, D., & Clark, R. W. 2023. Ambush hunting in snakes: behaviour, function, and diversity. In: D. Penning (ed.), Snakes: morphology, function, and ecology. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers - get paper here
  • Hantak MM, Guralnick RP, Cameron AC, Griffing AH, Harrington SM, Weinell JL, Paluh DJ. 2022. Colour scales with climate in North American ratsnakes: a test of the thermal melanism hypothesis using community science images. Biol. Lett. 18: 20220403 - get paper here
  • Harrington, Sean M; Jordyn M de Haan, Lindsey Shapiro, Sara Ruane 2018. Habits and characteristics of arboreal snakes worldwide: arboreality constrains body size but does not affect lineage diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 125 (1): 61–71 - get paper here
  • HILLIS, DAVID M. 2022. Species, Clades, and their Relationship to Paraphyly and Monophyly: Examples from the Pantherophis obsoletus Complex. Herpetological Review 53 (1): 47–53.
  • HILLIS, DAVID M. & WOLFGANG WÜSTER 2021. Taxonomy and Nomenclature of the Pantherophis obsoletus Complex. Herpetological Review 52 (1): 51–52
  • Holbrook, John E. 1836. North American Herpetology, Vol. 1 (1st ed.). J. Dobson, Philadelphia, 120 pp. - get paper here
  • Irwin, Kelly J. 2004. Arkansas Snake Guide. Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, Little Rock, 50 pp.
  • Jackson, J. Andrew 1997. Geographic Distribution. Elaphe obsoleta spilotes. Herpetological Review 28 (2): 97 - get paper here
  • Jensen, John B.; Carlos D. Camp, Whit Gibbons, & Matt J. Elliott 2008. Amphibians and reptiles of Georgia. University of Georgia Press, 575 pp.
  • King, Richard B.; Oldham, Michael J.; Weller, Wayne F.; Wynn, Douglas. 1997. Historic and current amphibian and reptile distributions in the Island Region of Western Lake Erie. American Midland Naturalist 138(1):153-173 - get paper here
  • Kukal, Curtis Alexander and W. Andrew Cox. 2010. Pantherophis obsoletus: Diet and Foraging Behavior. Herpetological Review 41 (3): 371-372 - get paper here
  • Laita, Mark 2013. Serpentine. Abrams and PQ Blackwell, Auckland, New Zealand, 200 unnumbered pages
  • Liner, E.A., and J.L. Hogenstad. 1996. Incidental capture of Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri (Baird and Girard, 1853) (Texas Rat Snake). Sonoran Herpetologist 9 (5):49. - get paper here
  • Linzey, D.W., & Clifford, M.J. 1981. Snakes of Virgina. Univ. Press of Virginia, Charlottesville 159 pp.
  • Lougheed, S.C., et al. 1999. Hierarchical patterns of genetic population structure in black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) as revealed by microsatellite DNA analysis. Evolution 53:1995-2001 - get paper here
  • Love, B. 2007. Eine Landpartie. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (65): 14-15 - get paper here
  • Lovich, J.E. & Jaworski, T.R. 1988. Annotated checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles reported from Cedar Bog, Ohio. Ohio J. Sci. 88 (4): 139-143 - get paper here
  • Lynch, J.D. 1985. Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nebraska. Nebraska Acad. of Sci., Lincoln, Trans. 13: 33-57.
  • Marcou, Zachary John 2018. Delineating Metrics of Diversity for a Snake Community in a Rare Ecosystem. MSc Thesis, Stephen F. Austin State University - get paper here
  • Mense, Mark 2010. Welche Schlange für mich? Reptilia (Münster) 15 (86): 51-56 - get paper here
  • Mitchell, J.C. 1994. The reptiles of Virginia. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, ca. 350 pp.
  • Montgomery, William B. and Margie Crisp. 2016. Geographic Distribution: Pantherophis obsoletus (Western Ratsnake). Herpetological Review 47 (2): 264 - get paper here
  • Novotny, Raymond J. 1997. Geographic Distribution. Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. Herpetological Review 28 (2): 97 - get paper here
  • Palmer, W.M. & Braswell, A.L. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. Univ. North Carolina Press
  • Pisani, G R & Riedle, J D; 2018. Pantherophis obsoletus (Western Ratsnake) Diet/scavenging. Herpetological Review 49 (4): 760 - get paper here
  • Potts, George D. & Joseph T. Collins 2005. A CHECKLIST OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF KANSAS. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, 50 pp.
  • PYRON, R. ALEXANDER; STEVE GOTTE & FRANK T. BURBRINK. 2021. Additional comments on the types and nomina of several North American ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus complex, Colubridae, Serpentes). Bionomina 25 (1): 70–75. - get paper here
  • Pyron, R.Alexander; Frank T. Burbrink 2009. Neogene diversification and taxonomic stability in the snake tribe Lampropeltini (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52 (2): 524-529 - get paper here
  • RODRIGUES NEHEMY, IBRAHIM KAMEL; THAYLLON ORZECHOWSKY GOMES, FERNANDA PAIVA, WESLEY KAUAN KUBO, JOÃO EMÍLIO DE ALMEIDA JÚNIOR, NATHAN FERNANDES NEVES & VINICIUS DE AVELAR SÃO PEDRO. 2022. Herpeto-commerce: A look at the illegal online trade of amphibians and reptiles in Brazil. Cuadernos de Herpetología 36(2): 185–196. - get paper here
  • Ruthven, Alexander G.;Thompson, Crystal;Gaige, Helen T. 1928. The Herpetology of Michigan. Michigan Geological and Biological Survey 10 (3): 1-166 [CNAH reprint 7]
  • Sachsse, W. 2014. Die Tierwelt in Menschenhand. Terraria-Elaphe 2014 (2):74-77 - get paper here
  • Say, T. 1823. In James, E. Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819, '20, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. Vol. 1. Philadelphia, H. C. Carey & I. Lea. - get paper here
  • Schmidt, D. 2004. Zur Reproduktion von Schlangen im Terrarium: Aufgaben - Fakten - Probleme. Draco 5 (17): 22-36 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, D. 2004. Die Erdnatter (Pantherophis obsoletus). Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 64 pp. - get paper here
  • Schmidt, D. 2015. Nattern. Arten und Tipps für Einsteiger. Reptilia (Münster) 20 (115): 28-41 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, D. & Kunz, K. 2005. Ernährung von Schlangen. Natur und Tier Verlag, Münster, 159 pp. - get paper here
  • Schulz, K. D. 1996. Eine Monographie der Schlangengattung Elaphe Fitzinger. Bushmaster, Berg (CH): 1-460
  • Schulz, Klaus-Dieter 1996. A monograph of the colubrid snakes of the genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, 439 pp.
  • Schweiger, M. 1995. Florida - herpetologische Eindrücke einer Rundreise. Elaphe 3 (3): 76-80
  • SKUBOWIUS, Bernd 2012. Die Slowinski-Kornnatter, Pantherophis slowinskii: ein seltener Gast in deutschen Terrarien. Terraria-Elaphe 2012 (6): 31-37 - get paper here
  • Smith, Christopher E. and Don Becker. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Pantherophis obsoletus (western ratsnake). Herpetological Review 46 (4): 575 - get paper here
  • Snyder, Richard C. 1945. Notes on the snakes of southeastern Alabama. Copeia 1945 (3): 173-174 - get paper here
  • Sperry, Jinelle H.; Michael P. Ward, and Patrick J. Weatherhead 2013. Effects of Temperature, Moon Phase, and Prey on Nocturnal Activity in Ratsnakes: An Automated Telemetry Study. Journal of Herpetology Mar 2013, Vol. 47, No. 1: 105-111. - get paper here
  • Stankowski, B. 1986. Erdnattern (E. obsoleta) - ideale Schlangen für den Anfänger. Herpetofauna 8 (42): 29-34 - get paper here
  • Steen, D. A. 2019. Secrets of Snakes: The Science beyond the Myths. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781623497972. 164 p.
  • SWARTWOUT, MEREDITH C. & JOHN D. WILLSON. 2022. Southeastern US Snake Species are Vulnerable to Egg Predation by Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta). Herpetologica, 78(2):139-144. - get paper here
  • Taggart, Travis W. 2021. On the type locality of Pantherophis obsoletus. Collinsorum 10(2): 3-4 - get paper here
  • Talbert, M.E. 1932. An Albino Pilot Black-snake. Proc. Jr. Soc. Nat. Hist. Cincinnati 3 (2): 19
  • Tennant, A. 2003. Snakes of North America - Eastern and Central Regions, revised edition. Lone Star Books, 605 pp.
  • Trauth, S. E. 2020. Regional Variation in Ventral Body Color and Pattern in the Western Ratsnake, Pantherophis obsoletus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae), in Arkansas. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, 74(1), 61-66 - get paper here
  • Ullate-Agote A and Tzika AC 2021. Characterization of the Leucistic Texas Rat Snake Pantherophis obsoletus. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:583136 - get paper here
  • Utiger, Urs, Notker Helfenberger, Beat Schätti, Catherine Schmidt, Markus Ruf and Vincent Ziswiler 2002. Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old World and New World ratsnakes, Elaphe Auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russ. J. Herpetol. 9 (2): 105-124. - get paper here
  • VanDeWalle, Terry 2022. The Natural History of the Snakes and Lizards of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa, 384 pp. ISBN: 978-1- 609388-37-9. [review in HR 54 (1): 151] - get paper here
  • Voris, H.K., D.R. Karns, K.A. Feldheim, B. Kechavarzi, and M. Rinehart. 2008. Multiple paternity in the oriental-australian rear-fanged watersnakes (Homalopsidae). Herp. Cons. Biol. 3: 88-102 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Ward, Michael P.; Jinelle H. Sperry, and Patrick J. Weatherhead 2013. Evaluation of Automated Radio Telemetry for Quantifying Movements and Home Ranges of Snakes. Journal of Herpetology Jun 2013, Vol. 47, No. 2: 337-345. - get paper here
  • Watson, C.M., Estep, G., Barrier, N. & Watson, I.H. 2018. Pantherophis obsoletus (Texas Ratsnake) Vulnerability during predation. Herpetological Review 49 (1): 137. - get paper here
  • Weatherhead, Patrick J.; Gabriel Blouin-Demers, and Jinelle H. Sperry 2012. Mortality Patterns and the Cost of Reproduction in a Northern Population of Ratsnakes, Elaphe obsoleta. Journal of Herpetology 46 (1): 100-103. - get paper here
  • Werler, John E. & James R. Dixon 2000. Texas Snakes. University of Texas Press, 544 pages
  • Werning, H. 2009. Florida - ein kleiner herpetologischer Reiseführer. Draco 10 (37): 4-23 - get paper here
  • Wilgers, D.J.; Horne, E.A.; Sandercock, B.K. & Volkmann, A.W. 2006. Effects of rangeland management on community dynamics of the herpetofauna of the Tall-grass Prairie [Flint Hills, Kansas/Oklahoma]. Herpetologica 62 (4): 378-388 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator