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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
black rat snake, pilot snake |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Colubridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Elaphe (the deer) obsoleta obsoleta |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Young are blotched black and gray; adults have a
shiny black back with light brown or gray undersides;
white chin and throat |
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| SIZE: |
90-180
cm (42-72 in) average adult length; 270 cm (9 ft)
maximum reported length |
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| DIET: |
Small
mammals, frogs, lizards, birds, and eggs |
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| INCUBATION: |
68-77 days; young hatch in the fall and are 10-16
inches at birth |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
5-20
eggs |
| BREEDING
PERIOD |
Eggs
are laid between June and August in leaf litter
or under rocks |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
3-4 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
10-15 years in the natural environment |
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| RANGE: |
Northeastern and central United States; north to
Wisconsin, west to Oklahoma, south to Louisiana
and Georgia |
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| HABITAT: |
Woodlands and rocky outcroppings |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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|
| 1. |
Black
rat snakes are one of the longest snakes in North
America, occasionally reaching lengths of 8 feet. |
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| 2. |
When threatened, rat snakes will "rattle"
their tail, fooling other animals into believing
they are venomous. |
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| 3. |
Like pythons and boas, rat snakes are constrictors,
which suffocate their prey. |
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| 4. |
In
the colder months of the year, the black rat snake
will den up with other snakes including the timber
rattlesnake and the racer. This may have caused
the incorrect belief that the black rat snake leads
the other snakes to shelter, earning it the name
'pilot snake'. |
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| 5. |
Black
rat snakes are excellent climbers and hunt for birds
and eggs in trees. |
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Black rat snakes are helpful in controlling the
rodent population, which can cause crop destruction
and spread diseases. |
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|
| Areste,
Manuel and Cebrián, Rafael. Snakes of
the World. New York: Sterling Publishing Co.,
Inc., 2003. |
|
|
Conant, Roger, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson
Field Guide-Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern
and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1991.
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|
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Mattison, Chris. Snakes of the World. Facts
on File, Inc. New York, 1988.
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| Mehrtens,
John M. Living Snakes of the World. New York:
Sterling Publishing Co., 1987. |
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| http://www.ohiokids.org/ohc/nature/animals/reptile/bratsnake.html |
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| http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/reptiles/snakes/black_ratsnake.html |
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