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South Plains Rat Snake
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
- Family: Colubridae ("typical" snakes)
- Subfamily: Colubrinae ("typical"
snakes)
- Genus: Elaphe (corn, fox, and rat
snakes)
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| Also Known As:
Southwestern rat snake |
Scientific Name: Elaphe emoryi
meahllmorum Smith, Chiszar, Staley & Tepedelen, 1994
NOTE: Recent taxonomical changes have placed most North
American Elaphe into a new genus, Pantherophis. |
| Habitat: Meadows and
open areas. |
Elaphos="deer" (possibly alluding
to these snakes' speed), emoryi in honor of Army General
William H. Emory, meahllmorum is an amalgamation of the
first letters of the last names of 11 colleagues of Hobart M.
Smith
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| Length: Up to 6 feet. |
Old Scientific Name:
Elaphe guttata emoryi, Elaphe emoryi (previously considered
the same as the Great Plains Rat Snake), Elaphe
guttata meahllmorum |
| Food: Rodents and
birds. |
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| I, along with two other members
of the South
Texas Herpetology Association, found this snake and juveniles
of the same species while road cruising in south Texas in April
2004, on a less-than-favorable night (air temperatures were in the
60s, but numerous snakes were found). It is shown here in a
defensive posture, with tongue flicking out. |
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| Until recently, this subspecies
was considered no different than the Great
Plains Rat Snake. Herpetologist Hobart M. Smith
conducted morphological studies, examining ventral and subcaudal
scale counts, and around 1994 decided the population of Great
Plains Rat Snakes in southern Texas were sufficiently distinct to
warrant reclassification as a new subspecies.
Compare also with the Texas Rat Snake. |
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