Pantherophis vulpinus, commonly known as the eastern foxsnake or eastern fox snake, is a species of rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is nonvenomous and is endemic to the eastern Great Lakes region of the United States, as well as adjacent western Ontario in Canada. Pantherophis gloydi is sometimes considered a distinct species and sometimes considered a junior synonym of the species Pantherophis vulpinus.[3]
The specific name, gloydi, is in honor of American herpetologist Howard K. Gloyd.[4][5]
Between about 1990 and 2011, foxsnakes were sometimes divided into two species, with P. gloydi as the eastern foxsnake and P. vulpinus as the western 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.[3]
P. vulpinus is found in marshes and other wetlands, as well as in adjacent fields and meadows.
P. v. gloydi is found in the eastern Great Lakes region. Both P. v. gloydi and P. v. vulpinus live in the state of Michigan. P. v. vulpinus lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where it is sometimes known as the pine snake, and P. v. gloydi lives in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. P. v. gloydi can also be found in Ohio in the United States, and in Western Ontario in Canada.
P. vulpinus is considered threatened over most of its range due to habitat loss. Numbers have plummeted because of the development of wetlands and coastal habitat. Its numbers have also fallen due to collection for the pet trade. P. vulpinus is often misidentified as the copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix or as the massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus. P. vulpinus often rattles its tail similar to rattlesnakes as a form of mimicry. This behavior also contributes to its decline in numbers, as many people fear that the snake may be venomous. In Ohio, P. gloydi is listed as a "Species of Concern" by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.[6] In Michigan it is listed as a "Threatened Species" by the DNR and is protected by state law.[7] In Ontario the species is listed as "Threatened Provincially and Nationally".[8]
A powerful constrictor, P. vulpinus will consume a variety of small mammals and birds. It has been hypothesized that it will also consume amphibians, but this has not been well documented. P. vulpinus will occasionally wiggle its tail, rustling leaves, to ward off potential predators. This is a form of mimicry. The sound resembles that of a rattlesnake. When threatened, it also may coil and, if it continues to feel threatened, strike.
Like all reptiles, P. vulpinus reproduces sexually and is an r-strategists according to r/K selection theory. An adult female may lay between 7 and 29 eggs, which generally hatch after about 60 days. Eggs are usually laid under logs, or in rotting wood or humus.
Education may be the best form of conservation for P. vulpinus. Being able to differentiate between this species and venomous ones, such as the copperhead or the massasauga, may greatly reduce misidentification cases and subsequent deaths of the snake.
Pantherophis vulpinus, commonly known as the eastern foxsnake or eastern fox snake, is a species of rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is nonvenomous and is endemic to the eastern Great Lakes region of the United States, as well as adjacent western Ontario in Canada. Pantherophis gloydi is sometimes considered a distinct species and sometimes considered a junior synonym of the species Pantherophis vulpinus.
