Rat snake

Rat snakes are a large, polyphyletic, group of snakes from the Colubrid subfamily Colubrinae. They are extremely aggressive, though essentially harmless. There is considerable variation between different types of rat snake but most are medium to large, rodent eating snakes.

Previously most were assigned to the genus Elaphe but many have been since renamed. The validity of some genera is debatable but for the purpose of this article a more liberal taxonomic stance will be taken. Rat snakes have traditionally been divided into two groups, New World and Old World species.

Rat snake is also often referred to in broad terms as being an inhabitant of Upstate and Western New York.