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| Bullsnake, Pituophis cantenifer sayi (Schlegel, 1837). Kankakee County, Illinois. Hatching from the egg. |
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| Bullsnake, Pituophis cantenifer sayi (Schlegel, 1837). Kankakee County,
Il. Defense behavior. |
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| Sonoran Gopher Snake, Pituophis catenifer affinis Hallowell 1852, Cochise Co., Arizona. |
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| San Diego Gopher Snake, Pituophis catenifer annectens Baird and Girard 1853. San Diego Co., CA. |
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| Great Basin Gopher Snake, Pituophis catenifer deserticola Stejneger 1893. Salt Lake City, UT. |
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| Florida Pine Snake, Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus Barbour 1921. Central Florida. |
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| Pituophis ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from southern Canada southward to Guatemala. They also extend their range southward into Baja, Mexico. These are large snakes, some reach 2.7 m, and are powerful constrictors with the ability to produce a loud hissing noise when disturbed. The hissing is made possible by the enlarged
epiglottal keel and a laryngeal septum. This structure suggest that the genus is monophyletic. The hissing combined with the vibrating tail have caused some authors to suggest that these snakes mimic rattlesnakes. The rostral scale on Pituophis is upturned and inserts between the internasals. They use their snout for burrowing in the soil and this is one of the few groups snakes known to construct their own burrow for egg-laying. The taxonomy used here follows Rodriguez-Robels and Jeuse-Escobar (2000. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 14:35-50). |
