Spilotes pullatus

Species of snake
title: "Spilotes pullatus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["spilotes", "snakes-of-central-america", "reptiles-of-trinidad-and-tobago", "reptiles-of-guyana", "reptiles-of-panama", "reptiles-described-in-1758", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Species of snake" topic_path: "general/spilotes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilotes_pullatus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Species of snake ::
| image = Spilotes pullatus por Luan Alves Chaves 24 (retouched).jpg | image_caption = Caninana at Alto Ribeira Tourist State Park, Brazil. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | genus = Spilotes | species = pullatus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = * Coluber pullatus Linnaeus, 1758
- Tyria pullata — Fitzinger, 1826
- Spilotes pullatus — Wagler, 1830 Spilotes pullatus, commonly known as the chicken snake, tropical chicken snake, or yellow rat snake, is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the Neotropics.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Spilotes_pullatus_por_Luan_Alves_Chaves_10.jpg" caption="''Spilotes pullatus''"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Spilotes_pullatus_(Puerto_Viejo,_CR)_2.jpg" caption="''S. pullatus'' at the [[La Selva Biological Station]] in Costa Rica"] ::
Including the nominotypical subspecies, the following five subspecies are recognized:
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S. p. pullatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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S. p. anomalepis Bocourt, 1888
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S. p. argusiformis Amaral, 1929
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S. p. maculatus Amaral, 1929
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S. p. mexicanus (Laurenti, 1768)
Geographic range
It is found in southern Mexico, Central America, northern and central South America, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
Description
Adults may attain a maximum total length of 2.7 m.
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 is moderate in size with a round pupil. There are no suboculars, and the loreal is either very small or absent. There are 6 or 7 upper labials, the 3rd and 4th entering the eye, the last two very large. The dorsal scales are pointed and overlapping.
The dorsal scales are arranged in 16 (or 14) rows at midbody. Ventrals 198-232; anal plate entire; subcaudals 90-120, divided.
Habitat
It tends to inhabit forested areas, and is often found near water.
Behavior
It is mainly arboreal, but also terrestrial. It is diurnal and an active forager.
Diet
It feeds on a wide variety of prey, including small mammals (such as rodents and bats), birds, lizards, other reptiles, amphibians, and eggs.
References==
References
- Arzamendia, V.. (2019). "''''Spilotes pullatus''''".
- [[George Albert Boulenger. Boulenger, G.A.]] 1894. ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ''. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xi + 382 pp. + Plates I.- XX. (''Spilotes pullatus'' pp. 23-24.)
- "''Spilotes pullatus''". The Reptile Database.
- "''Spilotes pullatus'' (Tiger Rat Snake or Clibo)". [[University of the West Indies.
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