Pantherophis alleghaniensis, commonly called the eastern rat snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. Adult eastern rat snakes commonly measure 90 to 183 cm (2 ft 11 in to 6 ft 0 in) in total length (including tail), with a few exceeding 200 cm (6 ft 7 in). The longest recorded total length to date for an eastern rat snake is 228 cm (7 ft 6 in). A sample of eastern rat snakes, including juvenile and adult snakes, weighed from 54 g (1.9 oz) to 1,274 g (2.809 lb). A further adult weighed 833 g (1.836 lb). Adults are shiny black dorsally, with a cream or white chin and throat. The belly has an irregular black and white checkerboard pattern, becoming uniformly slate gray towards the tail. Juveniles have dark dorsal blotches on a grayish ground color. The ventral pattern in juveniles is the same as in adults. The eyes are round with a black pupil, and particularly in juveniles but not always present in adults, a distinct white margin. The dorsal scales are weakly keeled, and are arranged in 23 to 27 rows at midbody. Males and females have the same coloration. Males have proportionally longer tails (16-19% of total body length) compared to females (14–18% of total body length). (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)