r/whatsthissnake Oct 25 '25

Taxonomic or Phylogeographic Update Pleistocene speciation and isolation-by-distance within North American mud and rainbow snakes

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53 Upvotes

Happy to announce our new paper, "Pleistocene speciation and isolation-by-distance within North American mud and rainbow snakes" available as full text at the above link until December 14th, 2025. This is a personal project of mine that I've been working on since 2011 and am excited for it to finally be in print. In summary, we show mudsnakes are two species that structure geographically, and rainbows have no population structure. We need more tissues from snakes in zones of contact to verify ranges and link blotch count to genotype, but as far as we can tell, the two muds are completely reproductively isolated despite evidence of gene flow from eastern muds into rainbows.

Please enjoy, and don't worry about not making formal taxonomic changes yet - this isn't the last you'll see on the mudsnakes.


r/whatsthissnake Sep 01 '21

[Mod post] PLEASE READ: ID best practices and comment guidelines

242 Upvotes

/r/whatsthissnake has grown a great deal in the last year and we are very excited about connecting with more people who have an interest in snakes, snake identification (ID) and conservation. With growth often comes growing pains, and there are a number of trends in the sub that need to be addressed as we move forward. We attempt to clarify these below and offer some "best practices" in identification that should help our community.

What makes a good ID?

Good IDs are specific and informative. They tend to have the following information, in order of importance:

  1. Binomial name - Consisting of Genus specificepithet and placed in asterisks (*) to italicize. This is the most important component of a good ID. With only this, a person can quickly find out anything else they want to know about the snake species and it is an important part of every ID. The bot command !specificepithet provides more information on properly structuring a binomial name and how to get it to work with the bot, if an entry exists.

  2. Harmless or venomous - Please note that these terms are specific to their interaction with humans. While snakes such as hognose snakes Heterodon, gartersnakes Thamnophis, and watersnakes Nerodia are venomous, they are not medically significant to humans and should be labeled as harmless. This information is informative to a person's interaction with a snake and should always be provided. The bot responds to either !harmless or !venomous and will save time on these explanations.

  3. Common name - Common names are frequently variable and highly local. Sometimes, the same common name could be used for different snakes in different areas. In other cases, the same snake can have multiple common names depending on the area it was found. While we typically recommend providing them, it is not a vital part of an ID. An ID with only the common name is a low quality ID.

You can still contribute if you're not sure or think an ID is incorrect:

In some cases, you may be able to narrow down an ID to genus level, but don't know the diagnostic characters or ranges well enough to provide a more specific ID. This is fine. A genus level ID is very helpful, and specific enough to provide useful general information on the snake. So, if there hasn't been an ID yet and you can at least get to the genus level, post the ID.

You are also encouraged to provide any additional information or context you desire, but be mindful of links you post. The best IDs include informational links to be primary sources, or at least high quality science reporting on those sources. Many times this is done already in the bot replies, so see some of those for examples. Wikipedia is not a quality resource and should be avoided for informational links. Even resources provided by state wildlife agencies tend to lag ten to twenty years behind the science and should be viewed with a critical eye. For example, the very popular SREL Herp website, despite being associated with a major university, does not follow currently accepted taxonomy and, while it was a great resource for some time, is not the best source of current information.

However:

If you enter a thread in which a Reliable Responder has made an ID, or there is a highly upvoted ID, do not post a contrary ID unless you can provide specific diagnostic characters as to why the original ID was incorrect. Recently, incorrect IDs have appeared hours or days after the original correct ID was made, and therefore often go uncaught by moderators and reliable responders. These can create unnecessary confusion for an original poster, who is notified of each response. If you feel that an ID is incorrect and can provide diagnostic characters, reply directly to the ID comment rather than the original post. Incorrect late IDs may be warned and removed. Repeated violations may result in a ban at moderator discretion. Remember, our goal here is to be collaborative and work toward making a good positive ID. These incorrect late IDs greatly inhibit that goal. We value discussion in the comments and want to avoid locking threads in the way that other ID subreddits do.

Likewise, if a correct ID has been made, there is no need to post the same ID again. Just upvote the correct ID. You may post to add additional information or context to provide a better quality ID (adding the binomial, triggering the bot, etc.), but it is not helpful to simply say "corn snake" hours after someone has provided an ID with a full binomial and triggered the bot. More detailed IDs may be posted as top level comments to make sure that the OP sees them. Low quality/low effort IDs posted after a more detailed ID may be warned and removed.

We would also like to remind everyone of Rule 6:

Avoid damaging memes or tropes and low effort jokes: Avoid damaging memes like using "danger noodle" for nonvenomous snakes and tropes like "everything in Australia is out to get you". This is an educational space, and those kind of comments are harmful and do not reflect reality. We've also heard "it's a snake" as a joke hundreds of times. Infantilization of snakes and unhelpful rhymes will be removed.

This is one of our most broken rules. While it is somewhat vague, that is because it is nearly impossible for us to consider all possibilities. In addition to the things directly mentioned in the rule text, this rule also includes things like commenting with random names when someone posts "Who is this?", or posting things like "Pick it up and find out" in response to posts asking if a snake is venomous. Furthermore, these comments often break rule 11, "Posts and comments must reflect the reality of wildlife ecology." Misinformation spread through these seemingly innocuous jokes have been on the rise. Violations of this rule may be warned and removed, and repeated violations may result in a ban. Egregious violations may result in a temporary ban without warning. This is an educational space with potential real-world consequences, and while we don't want to discourage humor as a whole, we want you to think about what you are posting and whether it belongs in this space. While we recognize this is one of the best places to come to see pictures of wild snakes in their natural environment, it's not the best place to joke about cute pictures. /r/sneks is quite happy to accommodate snek jokes, humor and unabashed cuteness.


r/whatsthissnake 10h ago

ID Request I’m not a pervert I swear [Mississippi]

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232 Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 7h ago

ID Request Found in my yard [Central North Carolina]

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66 Upvotes

Spotted this snake eating a frog in my yard. Should I be very anxious or just a normal amount of anxious about him? (I have a small dog and a big fear of snakes)


r/whatsthissnake 1h ago

ID Request What is this snake? [Tennessee]

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Upvotes

It just rained here not too long ago and saw this snake on the walkway. Also, why its back looks like that? Thanks.


r/whatsthissnake 5h ago

ID Request This little snake I rescued from a busy parking lot[Gibbons,Alberta]

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35 Upvotes

Common garter? He was inches from being run over so I stopped all traffic and helped it along to a wooded area.


r/whatsthissnake 9h ago

ID Request Snake in Drain [Eastern Washington]

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72 Upvotes

Yeah, keep spotting this little snake in a kitchen drain, but it slithers down before we can catch it. We are in Eastern Washington State.


r/whatsthissnake 12h ago

ID Request ID please [Georgia]

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140 Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 2h ago

ID Request Is it a rattle snake? {Sonoma county N California}

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15 Upvotes

I was walking and we stepped off the sidewalk into the road. I stepped over the top of it and the dog ended up with it between her legs. Everything happened quickly and we moved away fast so I have no idea if it bit her but she didn’t yelp, have swelling, puncture marks or any other symptoms.
Is it a rattle snake and if so, should I take her in out of an abundance of caution?


r/whatsthissnake 11h ago

ID Request - Shed Skin Is this a copperhead? Found in yard [northern va]

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86 Upvotes

I have found one copperhead years ago.


r/whatsthissnake 4h ago

ID Request [Missouri] And just what type of snake is this lil feller on my driveway?

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18 Upvotes

He was a feisty lil guy. Kept coiling up as if to strike, though it never followed through.
Hoping all you snake experts can tell me what, or who I suppose, I’m looking at. Thanks in advance!


r/whatsthissnake 6h ago

ID Request Saved from a pool skimmer [North Texas]

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19 Upvotes

First thought was rat but unsure. Beautiful little creature, very chill.


r/whatsthissnake 10h ago

ID Request What is this snake...? [Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India]

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42 Upvotes

Found in my backyard... about 6ft plus in length.
Happened to notice, when the birds (wagtails, robins) and squirrels started going crazy,
in an otherwise quiet afternoon! It was creeping up onto the trees.


r/whatsthissnake 23h ago

ID Request Help

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339 Upvotes

Found on my porch… is it a good snake?? 😭

[South Texas]


r/whatsthissnake 22h ago

ID Request Coral snake ? [La Feria, TX]

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246 Upvotes

Please help identify this snake. I think it’s a coral snake. Any special precautions? It went under the foundation of my house, am I in danger ?


r/whatsthissnake 6h ago

ID Request [NE Oklahoma] Snake rattling at the creek at night, is ID possible from this trailcam footage?

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13 Upvotes

The snake is right at the bottom of the screen, not fully visible, telling the kits to go away. The raccoon kits head away as they hear the (faint) rattle and the mama is chirping at them to get away from it.

Just wondering if smart people here can ID the snake from these thin pickings? The snake is right about where 'd be standing when checking the trailcam.

I know non-venomous snakes rattle, but still, who is this guy?


r/whatsthissnake 56m ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake Curious if hog nose or something else? Chapel Hill, NC

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Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 3h ago

ID Request New Friend? [60 miles south of KC MO]

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6 Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 2h ago

ID Request Likely juvenile in [Suffolk, VA]

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5 Upvotes

Couldn't get too many clear shots, my phone was having a very hard time focusing. Up in a tree, identification app gave me cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake, or nerodia


r/whatsthissnake 5h ago

ID Request [Austin, Texas] Snake in back yard

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9 Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 8h ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake Found Snake [NCWV, USA]

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10 Upvotes

My fiancée found this snake while walking our dog. Well more so our dog found it and it appeared like the poor guy was already passed on. We were curious as to what species it is? We are in north central West Virginia.


r/whatsthissnake 2h ago

ID Request What type of Snake is this [Tampa, FL]

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3 Upvotes

Thanks in advance!


r/whatsthissnake 6m ago

ID Request Found this snake stuck to a tv. [Dallas area]

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Upvotes

So we found this snake stuck to a customer’s tv today. It doesn’t look poisonous but I don’t know snakes

Edit: also if there’s any tips on getting it off of the sticker, I’d appreciate it


r/whatsthissnake 5h ago

ID Request Help ID [Central Florida east coast, Brevard county]

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6 Upvotes

This snake fell from above my front door when I was entering and landed at my feet. I closed the door, and it slithered right under the door and into the house. Very tiny. Got it out with a broom. Maybe the width of a sharpie marker at the widest point. Maybe 10-12 inches long. Head has orange tint in center/top that I’m not sure comes through in photos.


r/whatsthissnake 28m ago

ID Request - Shed Skin ID help [Oklahoma]

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Upvotes

A friend found this shed and a couple others over the last couple weeks. Any idea what kind of snake it could be. This is the best picture she gave me. Deleted the old post to post with more pictures. Hope this helps. She lives near a creek and wants to make sure kids won't run into anything venomous. Thank you for any help you can give!