Pantherophis vulpinus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pantherophis vulpinus, commonly known as the foxsnake or the eastern fox snake, is a species of nonvenomous rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to North America. Between about 1990 and 2011, foxsnakes were sometimes divided into two species, with P. vulpinus as the western foxsnake, and P. gloydi as the eastern foxsnake. A 2011 paper by Crother, White, Savage, Eckstut, Graham and Gardner proposed instead that the Mississippi River be established as the species boundary between two species of foxsnakes, and that those found to its east be considered P. vulpinus (including those previously known as P. gloydi) and those found to its west be given the new name P. ramspotti. This proposed that P. vulpinus, which had been known as the western foxsnake, become known as the eastern foxsnake, and the new P. ramspotti become known as the western foxsnake. Thus, P. vulpinus is sometimes called the western foxsnake and sometimes called the eastern foxsnake.
The specific name, vulpinus, (meaning "fox-like") is in honor of Rev. Charles Fox (1815–1854), collector of the holotype, an academic play on words. The specific name for the junior synonym... Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
Canada · 2025
© tbelcoure · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Racine Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Scales Nature Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Foxsnake sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 11th most-seen of the 11 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Foxsnake in Chicago on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Foxsnake sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Chicago, in our data
Chicago is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Eastern Foxsnake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Foxsnake that you can see in Chicago (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Plains Garter Snake (about 10%), Common Garter Snake (about 10%) and DeKay's Brownsnake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Foxsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Chicago (14 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
