Elaphe schrenckii

Elaphe schrenckii is a nonvenomous colubrid snake species. Common names include Amur rat snake, Manchurian black racer, Manchurian black water snake, Russian rat snake, Schrenck's rat snake, and Siberian rat snake. Elaphe schrenckii is very similar to the Korean rat snake, Elaphe anomala, which was once thought to be a subspecies of E. schrenckii and classified as Elaphe schrenckii anomala. The specific name, schrenckii, is in honor of zoologist Leopold von Schrenck. The species has not been assessed by the IUCN but is on the China Species Red List with a classification of 'Vulnerable VU A2a'. It is an officially protected species in Russia and South Korea. The species is endemic to Northeast Asia (China, Korea, Russia, Mongolia). It occurs in Russia and China, to the east to Chabarowsk in the Amur region, west to the Chingan mountains, and north to Manchuria (Northeastern China). The common name, Russian rat snake, is misleading as only a small portion of the geographic range of E. schrenckii is in Russia. It has been reported from Chinese provinces of Jilin, Heilongjian, and the Quingyuan area of Liaoning. (Ji Daming e.a., 1985). In the Netherlands the species occurs as an exotic around Groningen airport near Eelde, where it was first seen in the mid nineteen nineties. Reportedly, pet snakes were released into the wild by someone who did not expect that they would survive the winter, but the snakes were hardier than expected, bred and the species is now gradually increase its range. As the name suggests, this species inhabits fairly moist biotopes. Forest clearings, scrub, farmland, hiding amongst cavities in trees, piles of stone or wood, and when threatened can flee up a tree or into the water. E. schrencki has been noted up to 6m high in trees. This species occurs up to 2000 meters altitude and can live in cooler areas than many other snakes. Adults of Elaphe schrenckii can reach lengths of 140–180 cm. They are among the largest and most robust of all the rat snake species. < These relatively large colubrids vary greatly in colouration, from creme saddles to dark brown saddles. Many captive bred specimens have been line bred to produce clean yellow saddles. The northern, darker, is the most common variety. This species may have about 200-236 ventrals scales, about 55-78 subcaudals scales and about 21-23 dorsals scales.