---
title: "Western Ratsnake"
description: "Pantherophis obsoletus — Rettili. Pantherophis obsoletus, also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake (not to be confused with Pantherophis alleghaniensis), pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/western-ratsnake
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Western Ratsnake

> Pantherophis obsoletus — Rettili. Pantherophis obsoletus, also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake (not to be confused with Pantherophis alleghaniensis), pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae.

- Scientific name: *Pantherophis obsoletus*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 29396
- Wikidata: [Q998324](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q998324)
- iNaturalist taxon: [73888](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/73888)

## Names

- en: Western Ratsnake
- de: Erdnatter
- es: Elaphe obsoleta
- fr: Serpent ratier noir
- nl: Zwarte rattenslang

## Countries with the most observations

US (28238)

## Summary

Pantherophis obsoletus, also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake (not to be confused with Pantherophis alleghaniensis), pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to central North America west of the Mississippi River. No subspecies are recognized as being valid.  Its color variations include the Texas rat snake.  Along with other snakes of the eastern United States, like the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) and the eastern racer (Coluber constrictor), it is called "black snake".

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantherophis_obsoletus

## Photo

![Western Ratsnake](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/western-ratsnake/medium.jpg)

Photo: Chrissy McClarren and Andy Reago · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/318564665

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/western-ratsnake?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).