📸 PhotoPhoto: U-ichiro Murakami from Kyoto, JPN · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Japanese Ratsnake
Elaphe climacophora (Japanese Ratsnake · アオダイショウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 160 cm is similar to the height of an adult human (Comparison).
- 💡 Kyoto Prefecture notes that the Japanese Ratsnake also appears around human homes, and Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies explains that because it catches rodents, it may have been intentionally introduced for agricultural pest control.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Japanese Ratsnake (Aodaisho) is a large non-venomous snake endemic to Japan that has commonly lived in forests, farmlands, and around human homes.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is a uniform brown, often with four black longitudinal stripes, while juveniles have patterned markings on their backs.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds mainly on small mammals and birds, climbs trees well, and also appears around human houses. Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies notes that it has been introduced to Hachijojima in the Izu Islands, where its predation on birds is an issue.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2017) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/47755764/47755773
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 38YKS
- • iucnredlist.org — 47755773
- • wikidata.org — Q2562020
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Elaphe climacophora -Kyoto, Japan-8 (cropped).jpg
- • pref.kyoto.jp — craw0009.html
- • nies.go.jp — 30300e.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Alex Slavenko · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Elaphe quatuorlineata)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.