Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

REPTILIA (Reptiles) SQUAMATA (PART-SNAKES) (Snakes) COLUBRIDAE (Harmless Egg-laying Snakes)

Eastern Pine Snake
Pituophis melanoleucus
PIT-yoo-oh-fiss — mel-an-oh-LOO-kus

Conservation Status:
State: None
Federal: None
NatureServe State: None - None
NatureServe National: None - None
NatureServe Global: None - None
CITES: None

Etymology:
The scientific name Pituophis melanoleucus comes from Greek roots that describe the snake’s coloration:

Pituophis — From Greek: πίτυς (pitys) = “pine” ὄφις (ophis) = “snake” Pituophis = “pine snake,” referring to its common habitat in pine forests or sandy, open woodlands.

melanoleucus — From Greek: μέλας (melas) = “black” λευκός (leukos) = “white” melanoleucus = “black and white,” referring to the contrasting coloration of many individuals of this species, which often have bold dark blotches on a lighter background.

Diagnosis:

Distribution:

(, Museum Voucher) (, Observation) (, Literature Record) (, Online Record), ( Fossil)
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Occurrence Summary:
21
Records
21
Museum Vouchers
0
Other Observations

Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Cheyenne (1); Finney (1); Ford (3); Gray (4); Hamilton (1); Meade (2); Morton (3); Norton (1); Pottawatomie (1); Scott (2); Stevens (1); Trego (1);

Natural History:

Occurrence Activity:
Number of Unique Obervations (=days): 14; Range: 01 Jan to 01 Jan

Remarks:

Bibliography:

1998	Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 131pp.
2012	Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152pp.
2017	Crother, Brian I. (editor) Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102
2019	Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192pp.

Account Last Updated:
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