Pantherophis emoryi
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pantherophis emoryi, commonly known as the Great Plains rat snake, is a species of nonvenomous rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the central part of the United States, from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south to Texas, and into northern Mexico.
The epithet, emoryi, is in honor of Brigadier General William Hemsley Emory, who was chief surveyor of the U.S. Boundary Survey team of 1852 and collected specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. As such, it is sometimes referred to as Emory's rat snake.
Additional common names for Pantherophis emoryi include the following: brown rat snake, chicken snake, eastern spotted snake, Emory's Coluber, Emory's pilot snake, Emory's racer, Emory's snake, gray rat snake, mouse snake, prairie rat snake, spotted mouse snake, Texas rat snake, and western pilot snake.
The Great Plains rat snake is typically light gray or tan in color, with dark gray, brown, or green-gray blotching down its back, and stripes on either side of the head which meet to form a point between the eyes. It is capable of growing to 3–5 feet (0.91–1.52 m) in total length (including tail). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dickerson Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Plains Ratsnake sighting in San Antonio on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 30th most-seen of the 33 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 a Great Plains Ratsnake in San Antonio on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Plains Ratsnake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Great Plains Ratsnake sightings, San Antonio ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Monterrey (México, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Plains Ratsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in San Antonio (7 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.
