Lately, I’ve been trying to get information on some North American reptiles – snakes to be exact. I’ve had some interest in them having watched various movies where snakes were encountered.

I found a source which gives some information on FAMILY LEPTOTYPHLOPIDAE (slender blind snakes), FAMILY BOIDAE (boas and pythons), COLUBRIDAE (colubrid snakes), ELAPIDAE (cobras and coral snakes) and VIPERIDAE (vipers). I was interested to look for info on the Cottonmouth (which I believe inhabits the bayous and swamp lands of the Gulf states) and eventually I found something under VIPERIDAE - Agkistrodon piscivorus. There are still some types I can’t find mentioned. Sometime ago I heard or saw reference somewhere, maybe a movie, to an Alabama Black Snake and though I looked through library books, I couldn’t locate the species. However, it must be either a local name for the increasingly rare Coluber constrictor (Black Racer) or Elaphe Obsoleta (Black Rat Snake) found in North-East Alabama.

Can anyone shed some light on the species ?