NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern Corn snake
Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus), sometimes called the red rat snake, is a species of North American rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, the corn snake lacks functional venom and is harmless to humans. The corn snake is beneficial to humans because it helps control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease.
Wikipedia contributors, Corn snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:14:15.085537+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- Eastern Corn snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Pantherophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyColubrinae
- genusPantherophis
- speciesPantherophis guttatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pantherophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Rat Snake (alleghaniensis)Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Holbrook, 1836) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baird's Rat SnakePantherophis bairdi (Yarrow, 1880) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western FoxsnakePantherophis ramspotti Crother, White, Savage, Eckstut, Graham & Gardner, 2011 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slowinski ’s Cornsnake [slowinskii]Pantherophis slowinskii (Burbrink, 2002) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black Rat snakePantherophis obsoletus (Say, 1823) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern Fox SnakePantherophis vulpinus (Baird & Girard, 1853) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pantherophis guttata Fitzinger, 1843 Fitzinger, 1843 | synonym |
| Coluber carolinianus Shaw, 1802 Shaw, 1802 | synonym |
| Coluber guttatus Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, 1766 | synonym |
| Elaphe emoryi intermontana Woodbury & Woodbury, 1942 Woodbury & Woodbury, 1942 | synonym |
| Coluber molossus Daudin, 1803 Daudin, 1803 | synonym |
| Coluber pantherinus Daudin, 1803 Daudin, 1803 | ambiguous synonym |
| Coluber compressus Donndorf, 1798 Donndorf, 1798 | ambiguous synonym |
| Coluber floridanus Harlan, 1827 Harlan, 1827 | synonym |
| Coluber maculatus Bonnaterre, 1790 Bonnaterre, 1790 | synonym |
| Coluber guttatus sellatus Cope, 1888 Cope, 1888 | synonym |
| Coluber rosaceus Cope, 1888 Cope, 1888 | synonym |
| Coryphodon pantherinus Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Pantherophis&species=guttatus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:75LTS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.