Corn snake
| Corn snake | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Subclass: | Lepidosauria |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Tribe: | Lampropeltini |
| Genus: | Pantherophis |
| Species: | P. guttatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a North American species of rat snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Their docile nature, reluctance to bite, moderate adult size, attractive pattern, and comparatively simple care make them popular pet snakes. Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, corn snakes are harmless and beneficial to humans. Corn snakes lack venom and help control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease.
The corn snake is named for the species' regular presence near grain stores, where it preys on mice and rats that eat harvested corn. The Oxford English Dictionary cites this usage as far back as 1675. Some sources maintain that the corn snake is so-named because the distinctive, nearly-checkered pattern of the snake's belly scales resembles the kernels of variegated corn. Regardless of the name's origin, the corn reference can be a useful mnemonic for identifying corn snakes.
Adult corn snakes have a body length of 61–182 centimetres (2.00–5.97 ft). In the wild, they usually live around 6–8 years, but in captivity can live to an age of 23 years or more. They can be distinguished from Copperhead snakes by their brighter colors, slender build and lack of heat-sensing pits.
Until 2002, the corn snake was considered to have two subspecies: the nominate subspecies (Pantherophis guttatus guttatus) described here and the Great Plains rat snake (Pantherophis guttatus emoryi). The Great Plains rat snake has since been split off as its own species (Pantherophis emoryi), but is still occasionally treated as a subspecies of the corn snake by hobbyists.
It has been suggested that Pantherophis guttatus can be split into three species: Pantherophis guttatus, Pantherophis emoryi (corresponding with the subspecies Pantherophis guttatus emoryi) and Pantherophis slowinskii (occurring in western Louisiana and adjacent Texas).
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Wikipedia