Hey Terry,

I think Burbrink et al actually have a case with the Pituophis thing. A few years ago I had a pair of Pantherophis gloydi, which reminded me a lot to Pituophis, both behaviourly (hissing with opened mouth, tail vibration) and morphometrically (heavy bodied, rostral a little enlarged, patternless head). Sure, when you compare them to an advanced species like Pituophis melanoleucus it may seem a little odd. Now compare them to a plesiomorph species like Pituophis deppei. Does it still seem so far fetched?

Personally, I always suspected Pantherophis obsoletus as a rather weird, semiarboreal gophersnake, rather than your typical ratsnake. I have heard many times that crosses between P. obsoletus and Pituophis catenifer are more viable and have better fertility than crosses between P. obsoletus and P. guttatus. I never tried it myself though.

More work has to be done, more species need to get involved into the equation. But whatever you may think of their conclusions, you can't deny that Burbrink et al deliver al lot of interesting food for thought. I know I'm having fun.

Best regards,

Herman Bronsgeest.

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