Pantherophis
| Pantherophis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Pantherophis guttatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Genus: |
Pantherophis Fitzinger, 1843 |
| Synonyms | |
Pantherophis is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to North America and Central America, commonly called ratsnakes or rat snakes. All are powerful constrictors and help control rodent populations. Some taxonomic classification systems have accepted the proposed classification, while others have not.
Although Pantherophis was originally proposed in 1843, in more recent history these species were placed in the genus Elaphe. In 2002 Utiger et al. raised a taxonomic suggestion to resurrect the genus Pantherophis based on evidence suggesting the New World ratsnakes are more closely related to king snakes than to the Old World ratsnakes. This was confirmed by later phylogenetic studies.
However, the ICZN rejected the renaming, and thus Elaphe remains the more widely recognized and broadly accepted genus name. The ITIS also identifies all species names that use Pantherophis as "invalid" names – using Elaphe consistently for listings marked as valid.
The following species are included:
Fitzinger designated Pantherophis guttatus as the type species for the genus Pantherophis.
In recent years, there has been some taxonomic controversy over the genus of North American ratsnakes. Based on mitochondrial DNA, Utiger et al. (2002) showed North American rat snakes of the genus Elaphe, along with closely related genera such as Pituophis and Lampropeltis, form a monophyletic group separate from Old World members of the genus. They therefore suggested the resurrection of the available name Pantherophis Fitzinger for all North American taxa (north of Mexico).
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