Elaphe climacphora

Basic information
Scientific name	Elaphe climacphora	Click to magnify
Common names	Japanese ratsnake
Higher taxon	Colubridae, Ophidia (Serpentia), Squamata, Reptilia
Natural range	Endemic to Japan. Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and peripheral islands. Kunashiri Is., Okujiri Is., Sado Is., Izu Islands (Izuoshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, and Kozushima Is.), Oki Islands, Tsuhima, Iki, Goto Islands, Hirado Is., Osumi Islands (almost all islands), and Kuchinoshima Is.
Habitat	Various habitat such as forest, farm, around houses, etc.

Invasion information
Range in Japan	Hachijojima Island (Izu Islands). According to literature, this species was found in northeastern part of the island.
Origin	Japan. Detail is unknown.
Date	The first record was in July 1984.
Route	This species may accidentally hitchhiking on some material (such as ornamental trees), or possibly introduced deliberately for eradication of agriculture pests (rats and mice).
Impact	Predation on native birds. There is many records of predation by this species on various birds. Native organism(s) affected: Native birds
Regulation in Japan	No action for prevention, mitigation, control, or eradication.
Introduced range in other countries	None.

Reference

Notes

Mori & Moriguchi (1988) Food habits of the snakes in Japan: A critical review. The SNAKE. 20:98-113
Sengoku et al. (eds) (1996) Encyclopedia of Animals in Japan 5, Amphibians, Reptiles, Chondrichthyes. Heibonsha. (in Jpn)
Ono (1994) Reptiles and Amphibians. In: The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tokyo Electric Power Service (eds) Report on a Basic Research for Environment of the Natural Park around Geothermal Sites of Hachijojima Island, the Izu Islands, Central Japan. The Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tokyo Electric Power Service, Tokyo, pp. 256-262 (in Jpn)
etc.