One of the most well-known in North America is the black rat snake, Pantherophis obsoletus, which is native to much of the eastern United States. Other Black Snakes: Black Rat Snake ( Pantherophis obsoletus) Although the black rat snake looks quite intimidating, it is non-venomous and generally non-aggressive towards humans.Īside from the species within the Pseudechis genus, there are many other species of snakes we’ve also come to know as black snakes. Pseudechis weigeli, Pygmy king brown snake.Pseudechis rossignolii, Papuan pygmy mulga snake.Pseudechis porphyriacus, Australian black snake.Pseudechis papuanus, Papuan black snake.Pseudechis pailsei, Eastern dwarf mulga snake.Pseudechis guttatus, Blue-bellied black snake.Pseudechis colletti, Collett’s black snake.Pseudechis butleri, Butler’s black snake.The other eight species in this genus are the following: Its geographic range covers much of mainland Australia. Confusingly, despite its common name describing the snake as brown in color, it is still more closely related to and therefore grouped with black snakes rather than true brown snakes. The largest species in this group (and perhaps the most well-known) is the king brown snake, Pseudechis australis, also known as the mulga snake. They’re collectively pretty slender yet substantial in size, with most of them ranging from around 5 to 10 feet long. They range in color but are primarily gray, dark brown, or–you guessed it–a rich, glossy black. In terms of appearance, these nine species are mostly similar yet still distinct. Like other snakes in the Elapidae family (like cobras and kraits), they have potent venom and prominent, constantly erect fangs at the front of their mouth. All of them are native to parts of Australia and/or New Guinea. However, taxonomically, there is a particular genus of elapid snakes that are collectively known as “black snakes.” This would be the Pseudechis genus, which contains nine total species, and most of them have the word “black” somewhere in their common name. Pseudechis: The “Official” Black Snakes Despite technically being brown in color, the king brown snake is classified taxonomically as a black snake.Īs briefly touched on earlier, the term “black snake” is a bit harder to define than, say, “ viper” or “python.” It can potentially refer to dozens of different species of snakes spanning multiple genera and even families. Northern black racer, Coluber constrictor constrictor.Southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus.Black rat snake, Pantherophis obsoletus.However, there are also numerous other species of snakes spanning multiple genera and families that are mostly black in color with “black” in their common name, most notably:
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