return to main index

  mobile - desktop
follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on YouTube link to us on LinkedIn
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research  
click here for Rodent Pro
This Space Available
3 months for $50.00
Locate a business by name: click to list your business
search the classifieds. buy an account
events by zip code list an event
Search the forums             Search in:
News & Events: Herp Photo of the Day: Happy Rattlesnake Friday! . . . . . . . . . .  Herp Photo of the Day: Sand Boa . . . . . . . . . .  Herp Photo of the Day: Iguana . . . . . . . . . .  Chicago Herpetological Society Meeting - Feb 16, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  San Diego Herp Society Meeting - Feb 18, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Suncoast Herp Society Meeting - Feb 22, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  DFW Herp Society Meeting - Feb 22, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Bay Area Herpetological Society Meeting - Feb 28, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Southwestern Herp Society Meeting - Mar 01, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Greater Cincinnati Herp Society Meeting - Mar 05, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Calusa Herp Society Meeting - Mar 06, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  St. Louis Herpetological Society - Mar 09, 2025 . . . . . . . . . .  Colorado Herp Society Meeting - Mar 15, 2025 . . . . . . . . . . 
Join USARK - Fight for your rights!
full banner - advertise here .50¢/1000 views
click here for Healthy Herp
pool banner - $50 year

RE: Elaphe or Pantherophis?

[ Login ] [ User Prefs ] [ Search Forums ] [ Back to Main Page ] [ Back to Taxonomy Discussion ] [ Reply To This Message ]
[ Register to Post ]

Posted by: aspidoscelis at Thu Jan 12 21:39:26 2012  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by aspidoscelis ]  
   

Well, the answer to your question is "both".

The ICZN is simply a set of rules governing the correct publication of names and various related matters. It does not decide between alternative classifications. Both "Elaphe" and "Pantherophis" and, for particular species, "Elaphe guttata" and "Pantherophis guttatus", "Elaphe obsoleta" and "Pantherophis obsoletus", etc., have, from the point of view of the rules of the ICZN, precisely equal validity.

If you want to know if you should call a corn snake "Pantherophis guttatus" or "Elaphe guttata", that's a question the ICZN does not answer. You have two basic choices in answering it: 1) "go with the flow" and use whichever name is typically used by the people you associate with or is advocated by a particular herpetological society; 2) read the publications and make up your own mind. Following option "2", my own opinion is that "Pantherophis" is the correct genus for the various U.S. critters recently placed in Elaphe (except Senticolis triaspis, Bogertophis subocularis, and Bogertophis rosaliae). This opinion seems to be shared by most professional herpetologists as well, although I'm not sure how widespread it is in the hobbyist community.


   

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]


>> Next Message:  RE: Elaphe or Pantherophis? - CKing, Mon Sep 3 03:23:03 2012

<< Previous Message:  Elaphe or Pantherophis? - apeltes, Wed Oct 19 10:17:23 2011