Slowinski's corn snake [SEP] parent taxon
Slowinski's corn snake
Slowinski's corn snake ("Pantherophis slowinskii" ) is a species of nonvenomous snakes indigenous to Louisiana, eastern Texas and Arkansas.
Classification.
This snake was long considered an intergrade subspecies of the corn snake ("Pantherophis guttata") and the Great Plains rat snake ("Pantherophis emoryi"), but it has recently been elevated to species status and named to honor the memory of Joseph Bruno Slowinski. These three sister-species are probably best identified in Arkansas by simply consulting a
range map, given that their ranges in the state do not overlap.
Description.
Slowinski's corn snake is medium-sized and colored grayish-brown, with a series of large, alternating, chocolate-brown blotches. These blotches are often bordered in black. It has a spearhead marking on the head. The belly is checkered black and white, giving it an appearance of maize (its close relative, the corn snake, is believed to have gotten its name for this belly pattern).
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