Pantherophis vulpina
3997025
209937176
2008-05-03T17:33:08Z
C.Fred
461300
moved [[Pantherophis vulpgina]] to [[Pantherophis vulpina]] over redirect: rvv
{{taxobox
| name = Western Fox snake
| image = Pantherophis_vulpina.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Reptile|Reptilia]]
| ordo = [[Squamata]]
| familia = [[Colubrid|Colubridae]]
| genus = ''[[Pantherophis]]''
| species = '''''P. vulpina'''''
| binomial = ''Pantherophis vulpina''
| binomial_authority = [[Spencer Fullerton Baird|Baird]] & [[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1853
| synonyms = ''Scotophis vulpinus''<br><small>[[Spencer Fullerton Baird|Baird]] & [[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1853</small><br>''Elaphis rubriceps''<br><small>[[André Marie Constant Duméril|Duméril]], [[Gabriel Bibron|Bibron]] & [[Auguste Duméril|Duméril]], 1854</small><br>''Coluber vulpinus''<br><small>[[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1894</small><br>''Elaphe vulpina''<br><small>[[Roger Conant (herpetologist)|Conant]] & [[J.T. Collins|Collins]], 1991</small>
}}
The '''Western Fox Snake''' (''Pantherophis vulpina'' or ''Elaphe vulpina'') is a [[species]] of non-venomous [[colubrid]] [[snake]].
==Description==
Western Fox Snakes are three to six foot long snakes with a black and yellow checkerboard pattern on their belly. They are usually light golden brown with dark brown spots and a short, flattened snout. Like most [[North America]]n snakes, fox snakes are not [[venomous snake|venomous]]. Fox snakes earned their name because the musk they give off when threatened smells similar to a [[fox]].
==Range==
The upper Midwestern [[United States]], from [[Wisconsin]] west to [[South Dakota]] and south to [[Illinois]] and [[Indiana]]. Fox snakes are also found in the southern tip of [[Ontario]], [[Canada]].
==Habitat==
Prairies, sandy dune beaches, marshes, open woodland, and farmland, usually near water.
==Behavior==
Fox snakes are almost always found near water, and they are excellent swimmers. These strong, agile snakes, are also excellent climbers, but they prefer to spend most of their time on the ground. Fox snakes are [[diurnal animal|diurnal]], but may hunt at night during the hot summer months. Like all snakes, fox snakes are [[cold-blooded]] and cannot adjust their own body temperature, so these snakes often hide in burrows or under logs or rocks to stay safe from extremely hot or cold weather. In winter, they [[Hibernation|hibernate]] underground, where they can avoid freezing temperatures.
These docile, harmless snakes use several tricks to try and scare away [[predation|predators]]. They may shake their [[tail]]s in dry leaves to trick other animals into thinking that they are [[rattlesnake]]s. They can also give off a stinky [[musk]] from glands near their tail, to make them smell less appetizing to other animals. As a last resort, these snakes may hiss loudly and strike at the threat, to try and bluff their way to safety.
==Diet==
Like all snakes, fox snakes are strict [[carnivore]]s. Their primary [[diet (nutrition)|diet]] consists of [[mouse|mice]] and other small [[rodent]]s, but they will take any prey small enough to swallow whole, including young [[rabbit]]s, [[frog]]s, [[Fledgling (birds)|fledgling ]][[bird]]s, and eggs. As [[constriction|constrictors]], they subdue their prey by squeezing it between their coils.
==Life history==
Fox snakes mate in April and May. Males wrestle with one another for the right to mate with females. In June, July, or August, the female will bury a clutch of 7 to 27 [[egg (biology)|eggs]] under a log or in debris on the [[forest]] floor. These hatch after an approximately 60 day incubation period. Young fox snakes are usually much lighter in color than adults.
They are often a welcome sight around farmland, where they consume a large number of rodents that can otherwise be harmful to crops, or transmit [[parasite]]s to captive animal stocks. Though, they are opportunistic feeders, and will sometimes also eat fledgling [[chicken]]s or eggs, which sometimes leads them to be erroneously called the [[chicken snake]].
==Conservation status==
The Western Fox Snake is not listed on the [[IUCN Red List|IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species]] or [[CITES]]. While this snake is common within its range, many states have protected it, primarily to prevent over-collection for the [[pet]] trade.
==References==
*[http://www.redlist.org IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species]
*Behler, J.L., editor. 1994. ''National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. Knopf.
*Harding, J.H. 1997. ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region''. University of Michigan Press.
[[Category:Colubrids]]