{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | image = Eastern Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus).jpg | image_caption = | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite journal|author=Hammerson GA|author-link=species:Geoffrey A. Hammerson|title=''Pituophis melanoleucus ''|journal=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|volume=2007|page=e.T63873A12723588|year=2007|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63873A12723588.en|doi-access=free}}</ref> | genus = Pituophis | species = melanoleucus | authority = (Daudin, 1803) | range_map = Pituophis melanoleucus distribution map.png | synonyms = {{hidden begin|title = List}} *''Coluber melanoleucus'' {{small|Daudin, 1803}} *''Pituophis melanoleucus'' {{small|Holbrook, 1842}} *''Churchilla bellona'' {{small|Baird & Girard, 1852}} *''Pituophis bellona'' {{small|Baird & Girard, 1852}} *''Pituophis melanoleucus'' {{small|Baird & Girard, 1853}} *''Rhinechis melanoleucus'' {{small|A.M.C. Duméril, 1853}} *''Pityophis melanoleucus'' {{small|Garman, 1884}} *''Coluber melanoleucus'' {{small|Boulenger, 1894}}<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species|genus=Pituophis|species=melanoleucus|date=29 June|year=2008}}</ref> *''Pituophis melanoleucus'' {{small|Stejneger & Barbour, 1917}}<ref>Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). ''A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', p. 86).</ref> {{hidden end}} }}

'''''Pituophis melanoleucus''''', commonly known as the '''eastern pine snake''', is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. Three subspecies are traditionally recognized as being valid, though taxonomic changes may be occurring.

==Taxonomy and etymology== thumb|left|''P. m. mugitus'', Florida pine snake The pine snake, ''Pituophis melanoleucus'', gets its specific name from the Latin roots ''melano-'' meaning black and ''leucus'' meaning white. This is in reference to its black-and-white body. Following an influential study that occurred in 2000,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Hofmann |first1=Erich P. |last2=Hall |first2=Stephen |last3=Howard |first3=Tom |title=Pituophis melanoleucus - Eastern Pinesnake |url=https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/reptiles/view.php?sort_order_num=150.0 |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=Reptiles of North Carolina}}</ref> three subspecies of ''Pituophis melanoleucus'' have been recognized:

* Nominate subspecies ''P. m. melanoleucus'' (Daudin, 1803), the northern pine snake; * ''P. m. lodingi'' Blanchard, 1924, the black pine snake; and * ''P. m. mugitus'' Barbour, 1921, the Florida pine snake.<ref name="ITIS" />

The subspecific name ''lodingi'' is in honor of Danish-born amateur herpetologist Peder Henry Löding (1869–1942), who lived in Alabama.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beolens|first1=Bo|author1-link=Bo Beolens|last2=Watkins|first2=Michael|author2-link=Michael Watkins (zoologist)|last3=Grayson|first3=Michael|author3-link=Michael Grayson|year=2011|title=The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles|location=Baltimore|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0135-5}} xiii + 296 pp.</ref>{{rp|160}}

The species has a variety of common names, including: pine snake, pinesnake,<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=174263 |taxon=''Pituophis melanoleucus'' |accessdate=29 June 2008}}</ref> common pine snake, bullsnake, black and white snake, carpet snake, chicken snake, common bullsnake, eastern bullsnake, eastern pine snake, horn(ed) snake, New Jersey pine snake, North American pine snake, northern pine snake, pilot snake, and white gopher snake.<ref name="W&W57">{{cite book|author=Wright AH, Wright AA|year=1957|title=Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofsnakes00wrig|url-access=registration|location=Ithaca and London|publisher=Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press|edition=7th printing, 1985|isbn=978-0-8014-0463-4|pages=589, 609–621}}</ref>

=== Taxonomic challenges === By the nature of the field, taxonomists — those who study taxonomy — often disagree on specific classifications of species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thiele |first1=Kevin R. |last2=Conix |first2=Stijn |last3=Pyle |first3=Richard L. |last4=Barik |first4=Saroj K. |last5=Christidis |first5=Les |last6=Costello |first6=Mark John |last7=van Dijk |first7=Peter Paul |last8=Kirk |first8=Paul |last9=Lien |first9=Aaron |last10=Thomson |first10=Scott A. |last11=Zachos |first11=Frank E. |last12=Zhang |first12=Zhi-Qiang |last13=Garnett |first13=Stephen T. |date=2021-07-13 |title=Towards a global list of accepted species I. Why taxonomists sometimes disagree, and why this matters |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-021-00495-y |journal=Organisms Diversity & Evolution |language=en |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=615–622 |doi=10.1007/s13127-021-00495-y |bibcode=2021ODivE..21..615T |issn=1618-1077 |quote=There are five main types of disagreements among taxonomists: disagreement over the nature of taxonomy itself; over which of many 'species concepts' to adopt; over the boundaries between species and other taxa; over rank; and over the optimum pace of adoption of taxonomic change.}}</ref> These disagreements extend to ''Pituophis melanoleucus'', whose taxonomic status - specifically, the differentiation of three subspecies - has been challenged. One proponent of a taxonomic revision to eliminate the subspecies classifications is the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, whose list of amphibians and reptiles was updated in the 9th edition to eliminate the subspecies distinction following a 2021 study "that showed ''P.'' ''melanoleucus'' to consist of continuous populations that did not correspond to previously recognized subspecies."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boundy |first1=Jeff |last2=Burbrink |first2=Frank T. |last3=Ruane |first3=Sara |date=2025-03-31 |title=Squamata (excluding lizards) – Snakes |url=https://webapps.fhsu.edu/ksHerp/bibFiles/32018.pdf |journal=Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding |edition=9th |page=49}}</ref> Another review of scientific literature found that two genomic analyses in 2022 and 2023 showed that "subspecific taxonomy does not reflect the evolutionary history of the species."<ref name=":0" /> While this could suggest that the taxonomical classification of ''Pituophis melanoleucus'' is changing or will imminently change,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pituophis melanoleucus |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104367/Pituophis_melanoleucus |access-date=2025-05-25 |website=NatureServe Explorer |quote=Thus, given further study of this group, some species of Pituophis may undergo taxonomic revision in the near future.}}</ref> the subspecies classification developed in 2000 was used in scientific literature as recently as May 2025.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shukla |first1=Shivam |last2=Gray |first2=Zachary |last3=Doody |first3=Jeremiah Sean |date=2025-05-22 |title=Visual encounter surveys reveal a new population of Black Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) in Mississippi |journal=Reptiles & Amphibians |language=en |volume=32 |issue=1 |article-number=e22512 |doi=10.17161/randa.v32i1.22512 |issn=2332-4961|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Description == thumb|left|Florida pine snake, close-up of the head Adults of ''Pituophis melanoleucus'' are large, growing to {{convert|48|-|90|in|cm|abbr=on}} in total length (tail included)<ref>Powell, Conant, Collins (2016).</ref> and are powerfully built. The head is small and somewhat pointed with an enlarged rostral scale that extends upward between the internasal scales. Usually, four prefrontal scales are seen. At midbody are 27–37 rows of keeled dorsal scales.<ref name="B&K79">{{cite book|author=Behler JL, King FW|year=1979|title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=978-0-394-50824-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/audubonsocietyfi00behl/page/644 644–645]|url=https://archive.org/details/audubonsocietyfi00behl/page/644}}</ref> The anal plate is single.<ref name="Con75">{{cite book|author=Conant R|year=1975|title=A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America|edition=Second|location=Boston|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|isbn=978-0-395-19979-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept0000cona/page/199 199–200]|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept0000cona/page/199}}</ref> The color pattern consists of a light ground color overlaid with black, brown, or reddish-brown blotches.<ref name="B&K79"/>

==Geographic range and habitat== The species ''Pituophis melanoleucus'' is found in the United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware and Virginia.<ref name="W&W57"/><ref name="Con75"/> The nominate subspecies occurs in southern New Jersey, southern North Carolina west through South Carolina to northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, southeastern Kentucky and south into Alabama. ''P. m. lodingi'' occurs from southwestern Alabama to eastern Louisiana, overlapping with ''P. m. mugitus'' from southern South Carolina to Georgia and southern Florida.<ref name=RDB/>

The pine snake inhabits pine flatwoods, sandy pine-oak woodlands, prairies, cultivated field, open brushland, rocky desert and chaparral. It occurs from sea level to an elevation of {{convert|9,000|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="B&K79"/> The pine snake requires well-drained, sandy soils with little vegetation for use as nesting and hibernation sites.<ref name=iucn/> Often select habitat that undergoes frequent fire.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Howze |first1=Jennifer M. |last2=Smith |first2=Lora L. |date=2021-02-01 |title=The influence of prescribed fire on site selection in snakes in the longleaf pine ecosystem |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378112720314729 |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |volume=481 |article-number=118703 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118703 |bibcode=2021ForEM.48118703H |issn=0378-1127|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''P. melanoleucus'' communities in New Jersey were found to hibernate communally while communities in other regions like Tennessee were found to hibernate on their own.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=Robert T. |last3=Gochfeld |first3=Michael |last4=DeVito |first4=Emile |last5=Schneider |first5=David |last6=McCort |first6=Matt |last7=Jeitner |first7=Christian |date=2012 |title=Long-Term Use of Hibernacula by Northern Pinesnakes (''Pituophis melanoleucus'') |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=596–601 |doi=10.1670/11-100 |jstor=23327179 |s2cid=84292918 |issn=0022-1511}}</ref>

==Ecology== thumb|left|Florida pine snake with a light pattern The pine snake preys on rats, mice, moles and other small mammals and eggs.<ref name="W&W57"/> It often enters rodent burrows in search of a meal. In these cases, multiple kills are frequent, with the snake pressing the mice against the walls of the burrow.<ref name="Meh87">{{cite book|author=Mehrtens JM|author-link=John M. Mehrtens|year=1987|title=Living Snakes of the World in Color|location=New York|publisher=Sterling Publishers|isbn=978-0-8069-6460-7|url=https://archive.org/details/livingsnakesofwo00mehr}}</ref> The snake remains underground in cold weather or during the heat of summer days.<ref name=iucn/>

When disturbed, it often hisses loudly, sometimes flattening its head, vibrating its tail, and eventually striking at an intruder.<ref name="B&K79"/> To make the hissing sound, the snake forces air out of its lungs, vibrating the epiglottis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/pinesnake/|title=The Northern Pinesnake|website=Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries}}</ref> Several mammal species have been known to predate upon the hibernacula and nesting burrows of pine snakes including the American red fox (''Vulpes fulva''), striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') and Northern short-tailed shrew (''Blarina brevicauda'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=R. T. |last3=Dowdell |first3=J. |last4=Georgiadis |first4=Tino |last5=Hill |first5=Jacques |last6=Gochfeld |first6=Michael |date=September 1992 |title=Subterranean Predation on Pine Snakes (''Pituophis melanoleucus'') |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=26 |issue=3 |page=259 |doi=10.2307/1564879|jstor=1564879 }}</ref>

===Reproduction=== thumb|Southern pine snake eggs After mating has taken place in spring, clutches of three to 24 eggs are laid in June–August. The snakes excavate nests themselves <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=Robert T. |title=Nest Site Selection by Pine Snakes, Pituophis melanoleucus, in the New Jersey Pine Barrens |journal=Copeia |date=February 10, 1986 |volume=1986 |issue=1 |pages=116–121 |doi=10.2307/1444896 |jstor=1444896 |bibcode=1986Copei1986..116B |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1444896 |access-date=April 23, 2026|url-access=subscription }}</ref>in sandy burrows or under large rocks or logs and hatch after 64–79 days of incubation.<ref name="B&K79"/> They are generally known to have no problem nesting near urbanization.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=Robert T. |title=Nest Site Selection by Pine Snakes, Pituophis melanoleucus, in the New Jersey Pine Barrens |journal=Copeia |date=February 10, 1986 |volume=1986 |issue=1 |pages=116–121 |doi=10.2307/1444896 |jstor=1444896 |bibcode=1986Copei1986..116B |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1444896 |access-date=April 23, 2026|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The optimal temperature for incubation is 26-28 °C, with adverse effects, such as morphological abnormalities, occurring outside of this optimal range.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burger |first=Joanna |date=2026 |title=Perspectives on the Effect of Incubation Temperature on Pine Snake Hatchlings |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.70039 |journal=Ethology |language=en |volume=132 |issue=3 |pages=149–174 |doi=10.1111/eth.70039 |bibcode=2026Ethol.132..149B |issn=0179-1613|doi-access=free }}</ref> They are known to build communal nests, with several females laying eggs in the same spot.<ref>Species Profile: Pine Snake (''Pituophis melanoleucus'') | Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Herpetology, https://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/pitmel.htm. </ref> Tend to make nests in clearings with minimal tree cover to eliminate digging obstacles.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=Robert T. |date=1986 |title=Nest Site Selection by Pine Snakes, ''Pituophis melanoleucus'', in the New Jersey Pine Barrens |journal=Copeia |volume=1986 |issue=1 |pages=116–121 |doi=10.2307/1444896 |jstor=1444896 |bibcode=1986Copei1986..116B |issn=0045-8511}}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=Joanna |last2=Zappalorti |first2=Robert T. |title=Nest Site Selection by Pine Snakes, Pituophis melanoleucus, in the New Jersey Pine Barrens |journal=Copeia |date=February 10, 1986 |volume=1986 |issue=1 |pages=116–121 |doi=10.2307/1444896 |jstor=1444896 |bibcode=1986Copei1986..116B |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1444896 |access-date=April 23, 2026|url-access=subscription }}</ref>in sandy burrows or under large rocks or logs and hatch after 64–79 days of incubation.<ref name="B&K79"/>The eggs are adherent and quite large, up to {{convert|66|mm|in|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|45|mm|in|abbr=on}} wide. Hatchlings measure {{convert|33|–|45|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="W&W57"/> Eggs laid on wetter substrate tended to produce larger hatchlings than those laid on dryer substrate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gutzke |first1=William H.N. |last2=Packard |first2=Gary C. |date=Jan–Feb 1987 |title=Influence of the Hydric and Thermal Environments on Eggs and Hatchlings of Bull Snakes ''Pituophis melanoleucus'' |journal=Physiological Zoology |language=en |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=9–17 |doi=10.1086/physzool.60.1.30158624 |bibcode=1987PhysZ..60....9G |s2cid=87772315 |issn=0031-935X}}</ref>

==Conservation status== thumb|left|Florida pine snake The pine snake is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, due to its wide distribution and large number of subpopulations; while the total populations appears to be declining, this is likely happening at a slow rate. However, the species is thought to be impacted by continued habitat degradation and destruction. It is present in a variety of protected areas.<ref name=iucn/> Habitat loss is the major threat to populations of this species. Construction of hibernacula is an effective tool for enhancing the survival rates of the species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Burger |first1=J. |last2=Zappalorti |first2=R.T. |date=June 1991 |title=Nesting Behavior of Pine Snakes (''Pituophis m. melanoleucus'') in the New Jersey Pine Barrens |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=25 |issue=2 |page=152 |doi=10.2307/1564642 |jstor=1564642 |bibcode=1991JHerp..25..152B |issn=0022-1511}}</ref> {{clear|left}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== *Barbour T (1921). "The Florida Pine Snake". ''Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club'' '''7''': 117–118. (''Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus'', new subspecies). *Blanchard FN (1924). "A Name for the Black ''Pituophis'' of Alabama". ''Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, Letters'' '''4''': 531–532. (''Pituophis lodingi'', new species). *Conant R, Bridges W (1939). ''What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains''. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Frontispiece map + 163 pp. + Plates A–C, 1–32. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;66–68 + Plate 10, figure 29; Plate 11, figure 30). *Daudin FM (1803). ''Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles ..., Tome Sixième'' [Volume 6]. Paris: F. Dufart. 447 pp. + Plates I–X. (''Coluber melanoleucus'', new species, p.&nbsp;409). (in French). *Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. {{ISBN|0-7167-0020-4}}. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;122, 141). *Holbrook JE (1842). ''North American Herpetology; or, A Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. IV.'' Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 138 pp. + Plates I–XXXV. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;7–10 + Plate I). *Morris PA (1948). ''Boy's Book of Snakes''. (A volume of the Humanizing Science Series, edited by Jaques Cattell). New York: Ronald Press. viii + 185 pp. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;44–47, 180). *Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). ''Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. {{ISBN|978-0-544-12997-9}}. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;391–392 + Plate 37). *Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (''Pituophis melanoleucus'', pp.&nbsp;160–162, Figure 46).

==External links== {{Commons}} * [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw296 The Florida Pinesnake: ''Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus''] - University of Florida Fact Sheet 2009 *[http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw251 "Black Snakes": Identification and Ecology] - University of Florida fact sheet * [http://www.kingsnake.com/pituophis/p_m_melanoleucus.html Northern Pine Snake] at [http://www.kingsnake.com/pituophis/ The ''Pituophis'' Page]. Accessed 29 June 2008. * [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pinesnak.htm New Jersey Pine Snake] at [http://www.state.nj.us/ The State of New Jersey]. Accessed 29 June 2008. * [http://projectsimusflorida.synthasite.com/pituophis-melanoleucus-mugitus.php Florida Pine Snake]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1663774}}

melanoleucus Category:Snakes of North America Category:Endemic reptiles of the United States Category:Fauna of the Southeastern United States Category:Reptiles described in 1803 Category:Taxa named by François Marie Daudin