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Bullsnake
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
- Family: Colubridae ("typical" snakes)
- Subfamily: Colubrinae ("typical"
snakes)
- Genus: Pituophis (gopher, bull, and pine
snakes)
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Scientific Name: Pituophis
catenifer sayi (Schlegel, 1837) |
| Habitat: Fields,
prairies, open woodlands and other areas with sufficient ground
cover. |
Pitys="pine," ophis="snake,"
catena="chain," ifera="bearing,"
sayi after explorer/naturalist Thomas Say
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| Length: can grow to
more than 8 feet long. |
Old Scientific Name(s):
Pituophis melanoleucus sayi |
| Food: Rodents and
rabbits. |
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| I found this HUGE brute in April
2004 about an hour south of San Antonio, near a pile of debris
around an abandoned building. Initially, all that was
visible was the last foot or so of its tail. I knew it was a
big snake, so I ran back to my car to get my hook and tongs (and
camera!). Upon my return, the snake was making a hasty
retreat into a pile of old lumber, hissing VERY loudly (as
bullsnakes are known to do).
After about a 10-minute fight with the snake, I managed to
wrangle it free to get a few pictures. I had to hold on to
the snake with one hand, and operate my camera with the other
(hence the odd angle for the picture; I'm looking down at the
snake from eye level). |
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| Here is a close-up of its head,
AFTER it had calmed down somewhat! It had made a couple of
strikes at me, hissing the whole time. Bullsnakes' heads are
disproportionately large and strong (compared to similar species,
and is how the snakes got their common name) in order to burrow
effectively in a variety of terrain to get at their prey.
After a few more pics (including the one on my main
Field Herping page), I released the snake. Analyzing
that photograph with specialized software, I determined this
specimen measured AT LEAST 6 feet, 5 inches long--big, even for a
bullsnake, and by far the longest snake I've ever captured!
See also the San Diego Gopher
Snake I found. |
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NOTE: the range map shows the distribution
of all subspecies of Pituophis catenifer, including the
bullsnake. There are roughly 6 subspecies of P. catenifer;
the taxonomy tends to change every few years as more is learned
about these snakes. |
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