# Spilotes pullatus
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{{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](/source/Alto_Ribeira_Tourist_State_Park), [Brazil](/source/Brazil).
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_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}}]
| genus = Spilotes
| species = pullatus
| authority = ([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae))
| synonyms = * ''Coluber pullatus'' Linnaeus, 1758
* ''Tyria pullata'' — [Fitzinger](/source/Leopold_Fitzinger), 1826
* ''Spilotes pullatus'' — [Wagler](/source/Johann_Georg_Wagler), 1830[[Boulenger, G.A.](/source/George_Albert_Boulenger) 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''''', commonly known as the '''chicken snake''', '''tropical chicken snake''',][ or '''yellow rat snake''',][ is a [species](/source/species) of large nonvenomous [colubrid](/source/Colubridae) [snake](/source/snake) [endemic](/source/Endemism) to the [Neotropics](/source/Neotropical_realm).
== Taxonomy ==
=== Subspecies ===
thumb|''Spilotes pullatus''
[[File:Spilotes pullatus (Puerto Viejo, CR) 2.jpg|thumb|''S. pullatus'' at the [La Selva Biological Station](/source/La_Selva_Biological_Station) in Costa Rica]]
Including the [nominotypical subspecies](/source/nominotypical_subspecies), the following five [subspecies](/source/subspecies) are recognized:][{{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 }}]
==Description==
Adults may attain a maximum total length of {{convert|2.7|m|ft|abbr=on}}.[
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 [forest](/source/forest)ed areas, and is often found near water.][
==Behavior==
It is mainly [arboreal](/source/arboreal), but also [terrestrial](/source/Ecoregion).][ It is [diurnal](/source/diurnality) and an active forager.
==Diet==
It feeds on a wide variety of prey, including small [mammal](/source/mammal)s (such as [rodent](/source/rodent)s and [bat](/source/bat)s),][{{cite web|title=''Spilotes pullatus'' (Tiger Rat Snake or Clibo)|website=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago |publisher=[UWI](/source/University_of_the_West_Indies) |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Spilotes_pullatus%20-%20Tiger%20Rat%20Snake%20or%20Clibo.pdf}}] [bird](/source/bird)s, [lizard](/source/lizard)s, other reptiles, [amphibian](/source/amphibian)s, and [egg](/source/egg)s.