Chicken Snake
Spilotes pullatus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassSquamata
- FamilyColubridae (Colubrid Snakes)
- GenusSpilotes
- SpeciesSpilotes pullatus (Chicken Snake)
About the Chicken Snake
Spilotes pullatus, commonly known as the chicken snake, tropical chicken snake, yellow rat snake, or tiger rat snake is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the Neotropics. Including the nominotypical subspecies, the following five subspecies are recognized:
S. p. pullatus (Linnaeus, 1758) S. p. anomalepis Bocourt, 1888 S. p. argusiformis Amaral, 1929 S. p. maculatus Amaral, 1929 S. p. mexicanus (Laurenti, 1768) It is found in southern Mexico, Central America, northern and central South America, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
Adults may attain a maximum total length of 2.7 m (8.9 ft), with the average length ranging from 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 ft). Dorsally, S. pullatus is black with yellow spots which may form crossbands. The tip of the snout is yellow. The head shields may be mostly yellow, or mostly black, or crossbanded with a combination of yellow and black, but the sutures between the shields are always black. Ventrally, it is yellow with irregular black crossbands.
The body is relatively slender and somewhat laterally compressed. The head is distinct from the neck. The eye... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Chicken Snake in Iguazú National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Iguazú National Park
Lichtenstein's Green Racer
Philodryas olfersii
Aesculapian False Coral Snake
Erythrolamprus aesculapii
Forest Flame Snake
Oxyrhopus petolarius
Yellow-bellied Liophis
Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus
Brazilian Slug-eating Snake
Dipsas mikanii
Cobra-d’água
Erythrolamprus macrosomus
Guibe's Flame Snake
Oxyrhopus guibei
Pampas Snake
Tomodon dorsatus
Neotropical Snail-eater
Dipsas bucephala
Blind Ground Snake
Erythrolamprus typhlus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Chicken Snake in Iguazú National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chicken Snake sighting in Iguazú National Park, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Chicken Snake in Iguazú National Park?
January has the highest sighting rate for Chicken Snake in Iguazú National Park in our monthly data.