Japanese rat snake: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Japanese rat snake lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Elaphe climacophora
Group	Snakes
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Colubridae

Where does the Japanese rat snake live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Japanese rat snake in 1 country or territory across Asia. Wikidata lists it as endemic to Japan.

Japan

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Japanese rat snake endangered?

The Japanese rat snake’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Japanese rat snake?

The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Colubridae, genus Elaphe. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Japanese rat snake

The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium-sized colubrid snake found throughout the Japanese archipelago (except the far South West) as well as on the Russian-administered Kunashir Island. In Japanese it is known as the aodaishō or "blue general". It is non-venomous and is hunted by eagles and tanukis.

The snakes brumate for three to four months, mate in spring and lay 7–20 eggs in early summer.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Japanese rat snake (revision 1365101097), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q2562020 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).