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Black rat snake
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A black rat snake also know as Pantherophis obsoletus climbs on a rough bark of a tree trunk search for food. A black rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, with shiny dark scales is coiled on green grass.
Observe a female black pilot snake hatch a clutch of eggs and a newborn use its egg tooth to hatch
How the Pilot Black Snake Uses Its Scales to Glide
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A black rat snake also know as Pantherophis obsoletus climbs on a rough bark of a tree trunk search for food.
Black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus) This arboreal species can climb trees 3–9 meters (10–30 feet) in height.

Black rat snake

reptile
Also known as: Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, Pantherophis obsoletus, pilot black snake, western rat snake(Show More)
Written by
Manjishtha Bhattacharyya
Manjishtha Bhattacharyya is an editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She holds a PhD in zoology from Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, and has more than seven years of experience in science communication...
Manjishtha Bhattacharyya
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Black rat snake, (Pantherophis obsoletus), heavy-bodied nonvenomous snake commonly found in the eastern and central United States. Previously identified as Elaphe obsoleta, the species is now recognized as Pantherophis obsoletus. A broader grouping of four North American rat snake species called the P. obsoletus complex comprises the western rat snake (P. obsoletus), Baird’s rat snake (P. bairdi), central rat snake (P. alleghaniensis), and eastern rat snake (P. quadrivittatus). The taxonomy of these species had been...

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