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Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
- Family: Colubridae ("typical" snakes)
- Subfamily: Colubrinae ("typical"
snakes)
- Genus: Bogertophis (desert rat snakes)
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| Also Known As:
"suboc" (abbrevation of the scientific name) |
Scientific Name: Bogertophis
subocularis(Brown, 1901) |
| Habitat: A wide range;
from forests to arid lands, often around human habitation, to
where it is attracted by the presence of rodents. |
Bogert in honor of herpetologist Charles M.
Bogert, ophis="snake," sub="below,"
oculus="eye," aris="having"
(referring to the presence of certain scales below the eyes)
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| Length: Up to 5.5
feet. |
Old Scientific Name:
Elaphe subocularis |
| Food: Rodents, birds,
and lizards. |
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| I've only found one of these
snakes, and from what I've read, I was lucky to see even that
one! "Subocs," as they're called, have a very
limited range and habitat preference. They're nocturnal and
spend much of their lives out of sight in burrows or rock
crevices. I came upon this one on a July night in 2002 near
Del Rio. I think it was a male, about 4 feet long. |
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| This is an only-slightly-better
shot which helps illustrate the pattern. The snake's base
color was a straw yellow, and the pattern was dark brown stripes
with connecting saddles of lighter brown and gray. The
pictures here are stills from my video camera, which helps to
explain the poor quality--I found this snake a month before I
bought my digital camera! |
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