I personally put very little stock in Burbrink's reclassification of North American rats. It seems greenish rats have been accepted as intergrades for a long time, but some still seem to look at Gulf Hammocks as possibly something more, though I don't recall anyone still clinging to E. o. williamsi as a valid subspecies. My understanding was that this form was always thought to be a relict intergrade between yellows and grays if not a current mixing zone.



I don't have experience with any of them in the field except for black rats, so I can't weigh in with much authority. I think I recall Jim Godfrey stating that the area where he found the original moonshine only has greenish rats, no phenotypical blacks or yellows. I don't know if that holds true throughout a large area or if it applies to the Gulf Hammock region as well though. Most people I've talked to consider them to be intergrades though, so I just lumped them in for convenience. On a sidenote, I'm heading down to SC for a few days this weekend and hope to see a rat snake or two along the way.

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