{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | 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 = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Arzamendia, V. |author2=Caicedo, J.R. |author3=Fitzgerald, L. |author4=Giraudo, A. |author5=Gutiérrez-Cárdenas, P. |author6=Kacoliris, F. |author7=Montero, R. |author8=Pelegrin, N. |author9=Rivas, G. |author10=Scrocchi, G. |author11=Williams, J. |author12=Gonzales, L. |author13=Nogueira, C. de C. |author14=Gagliardi, G. |author15=Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. |author16=Catenazzi, A. |author17=Valencia, J. |author18=Murphy, J. |year=2019 |title=''''Spilotes pullatus'''' |article-number=e.T190633A1955620 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T190633A1955620.en}}</ref> | genus = Spilotes | species = pullatus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = * ''Coluber pullatus'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> * ''Tyria pullata'' <small>&mdash; Fitzinger, 1826</small> * ''Spilotes pullatus'' <small>&mdash; Wagler, 1830</small><ref name="Blgr1894">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.)</ref><ref name=reptarium/> }} '''''Spilotes pullatus''''', commonly known as the '''chicken snake''', '''tropical chicken snake''',<ref name=reptarium/> or '''yellow rat snake''',<ref name=reptarium/> is a species of large nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the Neotropics.

== Taxonomy ==

=== Subspecies === thumb|''Spilotes pullatus'' [[File:Spilotes pullatus (Puerto Viejo, CR) 2.jpg|thumb|''S. pullatus'' at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica]]

Including the nominotypical subspecies, the following five subspecies are recognized:<ref name="reptarium" />

* ''S. p. pullatus'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>

* ''S. p. anomalepis'' <small>Bocourt, 1888</small> * ''S. p. argusiformis'' <small>Amaral, 1929</small> * ''S. p. maculatus'' <small>Amaral, 1929</small> * ''S. p.'' ''mexicanus'' <small>(Laurenti, 1768)</small>

==Geographic range== It is found in southern Mexico, Central America, northern and central South America, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.<ref name=reptarium>{{cite web |author=|year= |title=''Spilotes pullatus'' |publisher=The Reptile Database |url=http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Spilotes&species=pullatus |access-date=31 January 2013 }}</ref>

==Description== Adults may attain a maximum total length of {{convert|2.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=reptarium/>

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.<ref name=reptarium/>

==Behavior== It is mainly arboreal, but also terrestrial.<ref name=reptarium/> It is diurnal and an active forager.

==Diet== It feeds on a wide variety of prey, including small mammals (such as rodents and bats),<ref name="sta.uwi.edu">{{cite web|title=''Spilotes pullatus'' (Tiger Rat Snake or Clibo)|website=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago |publisher=UWI |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Spilotes_pullatus%20-%20Tiger%20Rat%20Snake%20or%20Clibo.pdf}}</ref> birds, lizards, other reptiles, amphibians, and eggs.<ref name="sta.uwi.edu"/>

==References==<!-- BiodiversConserv17:2037. --> {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book | author=Boos, Hans E.A. | title=The Snakes of Trinidad and Tobago | url=https://archive.org/details/snakestrinidadto00boos | url-access=limited | publisher=Texas A & M University Press, College Station, Texas | year=2001 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/snakestrinidadto00boos/page/n17 1]–328|isbn=1-58544-116-3}} *Freiberg, M. 1982. ''Snakes of South America''. T.F.H. Publications. Hong Kong. 189 pp. {{ISBN|0-87666-912-7}}. (''Spilotes pullatus'', pp.&nbsp;110, 140 + photograph on p.&nbsp;154.) *Linnaeus, C. 1758. ''Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata''. L. Salvius. Stockholm. 824 pp. (''Coluber pullatus'', p.&nbsp;225.)

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Spilotes pullatus}} *{{Wikispecies-inline|Spilotes pullatus}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q672263}}

Category:Spilotes Category:Snakes of Central America Category:Reptiles of Trinidad and Tobago Category:Reptiles of Guyana Category:Reptiles of Panama Category:Reptiles described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus