Species Information

by KJ Lodrigue, Jr.

Click on a sub-species for info

The genus Pituophis is made up of the pine snakes, bullsnakes, and the gopher snakes. Pine snakes are the Pituophis in the eastern United States, and the bullsnake is the only Pituophis found in central North America. Pituophis of the western United States and northern Mexico are commonly called gopher snakes. This makes Pituophis a strictly North American genus.

Members of the genus Pituophis are members of the Tribe Lampropeltini, which makes them close relatives of rat snakes (Elaphe, Bogertophis, and Senticolis), kingsnakes and milksnakes (Lampropeltis), and glossy snakes (Arizona).

All of the common and scientific names have incorporated the newest information available to the author. This information is bound to change and may not be the most accepted terms; however, it is all based on the newest scientific information available to the author.

Literature Cited:

Collins, J. T. 1997. The Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles(CNAAR). [On-line]. Available:http://eagle.cc.ukans.edu/~cnaar/CNAARHomePage.html

Conant, R. and J. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

Liner, E. A. 1994. Scientific and common names for the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico in English and Spanish.