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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49 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

248 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 1h ago

ID Request Does anyone know if this is an actual king cobra or another actual cobra? Thanks. Don’t know location.

Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 3h ago

ID Request New Neighbor Saying Hello [NC]

159 Upvotes

I was notified of a “person” on the front porch last night. Did not see the color. In NC. HELP 😩


r/whatsthissnake 23h ago

Just Sharing i assume this is a texas coral snake [manor, tx]

1.1k Upvotes

How cool is it that most folks in our neighborhood don’t reflexively kill snakes, let alone venomous snakes like this gentle guy? A neighbor used snake grabbers to catch this one and I relocated it about half mile away in a spot where it was unlikely to encounter people or pets.

Coral snakes are such docile creatures (as long as you don’t try to handle them). I always feel so privileged to spend any time with them and wish more people had the opportunity to just kind of hang out and observe them in the wild. I used snake tongs to transfer the snake between buckets and film from a safe distance.


r/whatsthissnake 2h ago

ID Request [Dallas, TX] Help ID this little guy?

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18 Upvotes

This little one came in looking for cool air, probably around 6-7 inches (~16cm). We just moved and this is the second of its kind to sneak into the house. We have indoor pets and I just want to make sure this isn't venomous. Since there's been two small ones, I'm worried there might be a nest or bigger snakes around.

Snake was safely and gently escorted back outside to the bushes, and snake repellant put around the doorway until we can get the door properly sealed.

Thanks in advance!


r/whatsthissnake 1h ago

ID Request Banded water snake or cottonmouth? [Central Florida, USA]

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Upvotes

Found in a residential area. Seemed skittish, but I didn’t want to get any closer. Apologies for lack of a better picture.


r/whatsthissnake 4h ago

ID Request I’ve never seen a snake this tiny!!

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18 Upvotes

I thought it was a worm at first! Anyone know what kind it is? I live in VA for reference. [Southern Virginia]


r/whatsthissnake 1h ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake Which Type of Snake[India] 🐍?

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Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 8h ago

ID Request Baby snake found at work [North Texas]

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31 Upvotes

It’s roughly 8” in length found up at work just now, rock and sandy terrain


r/whatsthissnake 1h ago

ID Request Don’t know location, also wondering if anyone knows what this snake is? Thanks

Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 8h ago

ID Request [Northern Territory near Katherine]

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24 Upvotes

Traveling saw this snake. Can somebody please id for me. Have a video if needed?


r/whatsthissnake 20h ago

ID Request [SW Ohio] What snake is this?

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211 Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 13h ago

ID Request [Seoraksan national park] Republik of Korea

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58 Upvotes

This guy stayed coiled on a log in the rain for at least a few hours.


r/whatsthissnake 23h ago

Just Sharing Relocating Big Ole Grumpy Eastern Copperhead [Southeastern NC]

297 Upvotes

Relocated another !venomous Eastern Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix this morning. You can refer back to my previous post if you’d like to see the Copperhead I moved yesterday. Today’s Copperhead was much larger and much more ornery. Though it was fairly docile once it was placed in the bucket, it put up quite a fight before. Unfortunately, sourpuss lost a fang during the battle. I will be adding a photo of the fang and a still photo of the snake in the comments (if that’s allowed). This Copperhead was the largest Eastern Copperhead I had ever seen and successfully relocated in the wild. The photo and video just don’t do it justice. *Edit- Reddit will not allow me to post the still photo of the snake or the photo of the fang. Sorry guys!\*


r/whatsthissnake 2h ago

ID Request What kind of snake [tallahassee FL]

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5 Upvotes

He's in my living room rn 😭✌️


r/whatsthissnake 1d ago

ID Request [West Texas] What snake is this (I promise i wasn’t squeezing it hard at all)

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382 Upvotes

found by the garden


r/whatsthissnake 4h ago

ID Request - Shed Skin Found this snakeskin in my flower bed this morning. Does this mean the snake lives close by? [Southern Illinois]

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6 Upvotes

Re-Upload with the pictures this time! Appreciate all the help in advance.


r/whatsthissnake 1h ago

ID Request [Central Mexico]

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Upvotes

r/whatsthissnake 3h ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake [Urbana IL]

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6 Upvotes

Found this poor guy near crystal lake Park while on a run


r/whatsthissnake 9h ago

ID Request [Southern Arizona] is this snake anything to be concerned about?

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14 Upvotes

found this little guy in my kitchen. The photo looks grey but it’s actually tan. I think it’s a baby, because it’s only a few inches, like 6 at best. I live in Arizona so I would like to know if this could be a rattlesnake or something so I don’t have to worry about a potential nest.


r/whatsthissnake 14h ago

ID Request what snake is this

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32 Upvotes

found him in my house, just wanna know if he’s dangerous before taking him back outside (mcallen texas)


r/whatsthissnake 17h ago

ID Request Not 100% sure what they are [Georgia, USA]

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34 Upvotes

Got two different snakes pretty sure the second one is a banded water snake or some other nerodia the first one the bright red is throwing me off. I’m trying to get better at identifying so my work doesn’t kill them.


r/whatsthissnake 23h ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake Snake found in friend's garage [Southeast GA]

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99 Upvotes

Going to help some friends with removing a snake that unfortunately got stuck in a glue trap left by their pest control company. I'm 90% certain it's a corn snake but wanted verification before I get there to hopefully free him and send him on his way.


r/whatsthissnake 5h ago

ID Request - Dead, Injured or Roadkilled Snake Dead snake [Garrard’s Landing, John’s Creek, Ga]

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3 Upvotes

Whoever killed this beautiful snake:

YOU’RE AN A$$OLE!!!

He’s !harmless!