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Pantherophis vulpinus

(Baird and Girard, 1853)

Eastern Foxsnake

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.883934
Element CodeARADB13062
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyColubridae
GenusPantherophis
COSEWICT
Synonyms
Elaphe vulpina(Baird and Girard, 1853)Elaphe vulpina vulpina(Baird and Girard, 1853)Pantherophis vulpina(Baird and Girard, 1853)
Other Common Names
Couleuvre fauve de l'Est (FR) eastern foxsnake (EN)
Concept Reference
Crother, B. I., M. E. White, J. M. Savage, M. E. Eckstut, M. R. Graham, and D. W. Gardner. 2011. A reevaluation of the status of the foxsnakes Pantherophis gloydi Conant and P. vulpinus Baird and Girard (Lepidosauria). ISRN Zoology vol. 2011, Article ID 436049. 15 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Utiger et al. (2002) examined mtDNA variation in New World and Old World "Elaphe" and determined that North American rat snakes currently included in the genus Elaphe form a monophyletic limeage that is distinct from Old World snakes that also have been regarded as Elaphe. They resurrected the genus Pantherophis for the rat snakes north of Mexico, including the following species: Pantherophis obsoletus (and P. alleghaniensis and P. spiloides, if one recognizes those taxa as species), P. guttatus, P. emoryi, P. vulpinus, P. gloydi, and P. bairdi. Based on mtDNA and nuclear DNA data, Burbrink and Lawson (2007) determined that New World Elaphe are not closely related to Old World Elaphe. While further splitting of Pantherophis has been proposed (Collins and Taggart 2008), the use of Pantherophis has helped stabilize the classification of New World ratsnakes. Thus, Crother (2017) refrain from further division of the genus.

Based on a phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA data, Crother et al. (2011) determined that populations of Pantherophis vulpinus west of the Mississippi River should be recognized as a distinct species (Pantherophis ramscotti), whereas populations of P. vulpinus east of the Mississippi River represent a single species (P. vulpinus). The authors concluded that nominal P. gloydi of the eastern Great Lakes basin should be regarded as conspecific with P. vulpinus.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Biotics v1
Review Date2016-04-18
Change Date1996-10-30
Edition Date2016-04-18
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Rank Reasons
Ranges from Great Lakes region to Mississippi River; many collection sites and locations; thrives in partially deforested areas; presumed large population size; probably relatively stable or slowly declining; no known major threats.
Range Extent Comments
Under the taxonomic concept of Crother et al. (2011), the range includes two apparently disjunct regions: northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan southward to east-central Missouri, southern Illinois, and central Indiana (Vogt 1981, Powell 1990, Oldfield and Moriarty 1994, Harding 1997, Phillips et al. 1999, Minton 2001); and the Great Lakes basin in southern Ontario, the southeastern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and northern Ohio; north to near Saginaw Bay (Michigan) and Georgian Bay (Ontario); eastward along northern Lake Erie to Long Point Bay (Ontario) and along southern Lake Erie to Erie County, Ohio; the range includes Pelee Island and some smaller Lake Erie islands; isolated records from near Buffalo, New York, and the western end of Lake Ontario (Ontario) have not been confirmed; a record from Massachusetts probably reflects erroneous data (Conant 1938, 1940, 1951; Powell 1990; Harding 1997).
Occurrences Comments
The number of distinct occurrences has not been determined using consistent criteria, but this species is represented by a large number of collection sites and locations (as defined by IUCN).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known. This snake thrives on partial deforestation and in farming areas (except where extensively intensive).
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

P. ramspotti has an average dorsal body blotch count anterior to the cloaca of 42.8, whereas P. vulpinus has an average of 36.8 dorsal body blotches (Crother et al. 2011). The two species differ in mtDNA characteristics.

Habitat

Western portion of range: Habitats include dry and moist areas of farmland, prairie, pastures, open woodland (hardwoods, pines), forest edge, logged forest and old woodlots, woods near streams, stream valleys, pine barrens, oak savanna, and sandy oak scrub (Vogt 1981, Oldfield and Moriarty 1994, Harding 1997, Phillips et al. 1999, Minton 2001). This snake may spend much time in burrows and usually is found on the ground; it may hibernate in crevices, burrows, or old wells, sometimes underwater (Vogt 1981). Eggs are laid in old stumps, humus, or under logs and other objects on the ground (Vogt 1981).

Eastern portion of range: This snake inhabits shoreline marshes and vegetated dunes and beaches of the Great Lakes; it sometimes ranges into adjacent farm fields, pastures, and woodlots; it occupies rocky areas and open woodlands on Lake Erie islands; it rarely climbs into trees or shrubs, and it readily crosses bodies of water; hibernation occurs in mammal burrows, old buildings, or similar shelters (Harding 1997).

Reproduction

Lays clutch of 6-29 eggs, late June to early August. Eggs hatch late August to October.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest EdgeWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldSand/duneCropland/hedgerow
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN3
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS3Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
WisconsinS4Yes
OhioS3Yes
MissouriS1Yes
MichiganSNRYes
IndianaS4Yes
IllinoisS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

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Roadless Areas (1)
Wisconsin (1)
AreaForestAcres
09182 - Pentoga RoadChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest5,008
References (23)
  1. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  2. Burbrink, F. T., B. I. Crother and R. Lawson. 2007. The destabilization of North American Snake Taxonomy. Herpetological Review 38:273-278.
  3. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  4. Collins, J. T. 1991. Viewpoint: a new taxonomic arrangement for some North American amphibians and reptiles. SSAR Herpetol. Review 22:42-43.
  5. Collins, J. T., and T. W. Taggart. 2002. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians, turtles, reptiles, & crocodilians. Fifth edition. Publication of The Center for North American Herpetology, Lawrence, Kansas. iv + 44 pp.
  6. Collins, J. T., and T. W. Taggart. 2008. An alternative classification of the New World rat snakes (genus <i>Pantherophis</i> [Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae]). Journal of Kansas Herpetology 26:16-18.
  7. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  8. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  9. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  10. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  11. Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Queiroz, D. R. Frost, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., T. W. Taggart, S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2000 [2001]. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 29. 82 pp.
  12. Crother, B. I., M. E. White, J. M. Savage, M. E. Eckstut, M. R. Graham, and D. W. Gardner. 2011. A reevaluation of the status of the foxsnakes <i>Pantherophis gloydi </i>Conant and <i>P. vulpinus</i> Baird and Girard (Lepidosauria). ISRN Zoology vol. 2011, Article ID 436049. 15 pp.
  13. Dowling, H. G. 1993. Viewpoint: a reply to Collins (1991, 1992). Herpetol. Rev. 24:11-13.
  14. Ernst, C. H., and E. M. Ernst. 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.
  15. Harding, J. H. 1997. Amphibians and reptiles of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. xvi + 378 pp.
  16. Minton, S. A., Jr. 1972. Amphibians and reptiles of Indiana. Indiana Academy Science Monographs 3. v + 346 pp.
  17. Minton, S. A., Jr. 2001. Amphibians & reptiles of Indiana. Revised second edition. Indiana Academy of Science, Indianapolis. xiv + 404 pp.
  18. Oldfield, B., and J. J. Moriarty. 1994. Amphibians & reptiles native to Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. xv + 237 pp.
  19. Powell, R. 1990. <i>Elaphe vulpina</i>. Cat. Am. Amph. Rept. 470.1-470.3.
  20. Pyron, R. A., and F. T. Burbrink. 2009. Neogene diversification and taxonomic stability in the snake tribe Lampropeltini (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52:524-529.
  21. Smith, P. W. 1961. The amphibians and reptiles of Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey 28(1):1-298.
  22. Utiger, U., N. Helfenberger, B. SchC. Schmidt, M. Ruf, and V. Ziswiler. 2002. Molecular systematics and phylogeny of Old and New World ratsnakes, <i>Elaphe</i> auct., and related genera (Reptilia, Squamata, Colubridae). Russian Journal of Herpetology 9(2):105-124.
  23. Vogt, R. C. 1981c. Natural history of amphibians and reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum. 205 pp.