Pantherophis ramspotti
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pantherophis ramspotti, commonly known as the western fox snake, is a species of rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the upper Midwestern United States, west of the Mississippi River. It is nonvenomous.
The specific name, ramspotti, is in honor of the late aspiring herpetologist Joseph Ramspott. Prior to 2011, when P. ramspotti was proposed as a new species, it was thought to be the same species as P. vulpinus, and P. vulpinus was sometimes called the western fox snake. A 2011 paper by Crother, White, Savage, Eckstut, Graham and Gardner proposed that the Mississippi River be established as the species boundary between two species of fox snakes, 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 fox snake, become known as the eastern fox snake, and the new P. ramspotti become known as the western fox snake.
P. ramspotti is found in the upper Midwestern United States, west of the Mississippi River. The range of the closely... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Children's Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Foxsnake sighting in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th 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.
June and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Foxsnake in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, against under 5% in July and September–May, the lowest months. Those are among Minneapolis [Saint Paul]'s wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in January.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Foxsnake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Minneapolis [Saint Paul], in our data
Minneapolis [Saint Paul] is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Western Foxsnake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Foxsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (10 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.
