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What the sources say

Corn SnakePantherophis guttatus

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Corn Snake profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 39 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Echternacht & Hammerson 2016

Echternacht & Hammerson (2016). Pantherophis guttatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T63863A71740603.

The page saysThe Red List rates the species Least Concern.
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).Note: GBIF copy of the Red List; taxon id 63863 matches the DOI.
The page saysThe IUCN Red List rated the corn snake Least Concern in its 2016 assessment.
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).

Source
02

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Eastern corn snake. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

The page saysThe most commonly bred pet snake
The source saysthey are the most commonly bred snake species in the pet industry
The page saysWoodlands, rocky hillsides, meadows and barns in the eastern United States
The source saysThese snakes inhabit wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, woodlots, rocky open areas, tropical hammocks, barns and abandoned buildings.
The page saysmost abundant in Florida and the southeast
The source saysThey are most abundant in Florida and other southeastern states.
The page saysMice, rats, birds and bats; hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs
The source saysYoung hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs, while adults feed on larger prey, such as mice, rats, birds and bats.
The page saysSqueezes its prey until it is subdued, then swallows it whole
The source saysthen quickly coil themselves around their meal, squeezing tightly until the prey is subdued. Finally, they swallow their food whole
The page saysThe corn snake is a constrictor, a snake that wraps around its prey and squeezes.
The source saysThese constrictors bite their prey to get a firm grip
The page saysIt bites its prey to get a firm grip, then quickly coils around its meal and squeezes tightly until the prey is subdued. Then it swallows the food whole, usually headfirst.
The source saysThese constrictors bite their prey to get a firm grip, then quickly coil themselves around their meal, squeezing tightly until the prey is subdued. Finally, they swallow their food whole, usually headfirst.
The page saysCorn snakes have also been seen swallowing small prey alive.
The source saysCorn snakes have also been observed swallowing small prey alive.
The page saysHatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs. Adults go for larger prey such as mice, rats, birds and bats.
The source saysYoung hatchlings eat lizards and tree frogs, while adults feed on larger prey, such as mice, rats, birds and bats.
The page saysCorn snakes are about 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long.
The source saysCorn snakes are approximately 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long.
The page saysHatchlings measure 25 to 38 centimeters.
The source sayshatchlings are 25 to 38 centimeters (10 to 15 inches) long
The page saystheir lifespan is shorter in the wild
The source saysbut their lifespan is shorter in the wild
The page saysCorn snakes live in the eastern United States, from southern New Jersey to Florida, into Louisiana and parts of Kentucky
The source saysCorn snakes are found in the eastern United States from southern New Jersey to Florida, into Louisiana and parts of Kentucky.
The page saysThey inhabit wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, barns and abandoned buildings.
The source saysThese snakes inhabit wooded groves, rocky hillsides, meadowlands, woodlots, rocky open areas, tropical hammocks, barns and abandoned buildings.
The page saysThey are secretive and spend most of their time underground in rodent burrows, though they also climb trees.
The source saysHowever, they are very secretive and spend most of their time underground prowling through rodent burrows.Note: Climbing: 'Corn snakes readily climb trees and enter abandoned buildings in search of prey' (same section).
The page saysCorn snakes are sometimes mistaken for the venomous copperhead and killed.
The source sayscorn snakes are sometimes mistaken for the venomous copperhead snake and killed as a result
The page saysCorn snakes are the most commonly bred snake species in the pet industry
The source saysthey are the most commonly bred snake species in the pet industry
The page saysThe Smithsonian's National Zoo adds that they live for a shorter time in the wild.
The source saysbut their lifespan is shorter in the wild
The page saysThe National Zoo gives a range of about 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long.
The source saysCorn snakes are approximately 61 to 182 centimeters (24 to 72 inches) long.
The page saysHatchlings start out at 25 to 38 centimeters.
The source sayshatchlings are 25 to 38 centimeters (10 to 15 inches) long
The page saysThe National Zoo notes that, locally, habitat destruction can affect them.
The source saysOn a local scale, corn snakes can be impacted by habitat destruction.
The page saysThey are constrictors, coiling around prey and squeezing until it is subdued.
The source saysthen quickly coil themselves around their meal, squeezing tightly until the prey is subdued
The page saysA corn snake coils around its prey and squeezes tightly until the prey is subdued
The source saysthen quickly coil themselves around their meal, squeezing tightly until the prey is subdued

Source
03

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Pantherophis guttatus (red corn snake). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page saysCorn snakes have rather poor eyesight and depend mainly on smell.
The source saysCorn snakes have rather poor eyesight and depend mainly on olfaction to perceive their
The page saysTheir tongue works with the Jacobson's organ in the roof of the mouth to pick up scent molecules, and they can tell which direction the scent came from.
The source saystheir tongues, in conjunction with the Jacobson's organ in the roof of the mouth, detect scent molecules in the surrounding environment.Note: Direction clause: 'corn snakes can also determine the direction from which the molecules were released' (same passage).
The page saysThey can also feel ground vibrations through their bodies, which helps them find small or hidden prey.
The source saysCorn snakes can also feel ground vibrations throughout their body, which are used to locate small or otherwise hidden prey or predators.
The page saysNo. Animal Diversity Web describes corn snakes as mild-tempered and non-venomous.
The source saysCorn snakes are mild-tempered, non-venomous snakes.

Source
04

AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources

AnAge entry for Elaphe guttata. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

The page saysAn average adult weighs about 900 grams.
The source saysAdult weight 900 g
The page saysIn captivity, corn snakes have been reported to live up to 32.3 years
The source saysThese animals have been reported to live up to 32.3 years in captivity
The page saysAnAge, a database of animal lifespans, lists corn snakes as reported to live up to 32.3 years in captivity.
The source saysThese animals have been reported to live up to 32.3 years in captivity

Source
05

Gaete & Tucker 2013

Gaete & Tucker (2013). Organized Emergence of Multiple-Generations of Teeth in Snakes Is Dysregulated by Activation of Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signalling. PLoS ONE.

The page saysCorn snakes are polyphyodonts, animals that can regenerate their teeth constantly.
The source saysSnakes and other polyphyodonts have the capacity to regenerate their teeth constantlyNote: The study's model animal is the corn snake (its Introduction: 'in the polyphodont corn snake'); the sentence is about snakes and other polyphyodonts, here applied to the species the paper used.

Source
06

Ullate-Agote et al. 2020

Ullate-Agote et al. (2020). Genome mapping of a LYST mutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The page saysThe lavender morph has gray blotches on a pink background, instead of red blotches on orange.
The source saysThe lavender color morph in corn snakes is characterized by gray, rather than red, blotches on a pink, instead of orange, background.
The page saysResearchers traced it to a single change in the LYST gene that cuts the protein short
The source saysa single nucleotide polymorphism introducing a premature stop codon in the lysosomal trafficking regulator gene ( LYST ) that shortens the corresponding protein by 603 amino acids
The page saysthe colour-making compartments in red and yellow skin cells and in light-reflecting skin cells are lysosome-related organelles
The source saysOur work provides evidence characterizing xanthosomes in xanthophores and iridosomes in iridophores as lysosome-related organelles.Note: Abstract: xanthophores are red and yellow, iridophores light-reflecting (same abstract).

Source
07

Saenko et al. 2015

Saenko et al. (2015). Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene. Scientific Reports.

The page saysa lab model for how reptiles get their colours
The source saysThe corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a new model species particularly appropriate for investigating the processes generating colours in reptiles
The page saysOne team calls the corn snake a new model species for investigating how reptiles get their colours, because numerous colour and pattern mutants have been isolated in the last five decades.
The source saysis a new model species particularly appropriate for investigating the processes generating colours in reptiles because numerous colour and pattern mutants have been isolated in the last five decades
The page saysThe amelanistic morph, which lacks the dark pigment melanin, shows white borders instead of black ones around an otherwise normal pattern of orange saddles.
The source saysAs amelanistic snakes exhibit white, instead of black, borders around an otherwise normal pattern of dorsal orange saddles and lateral blotchesNote: 'lacks the dark pigment melanin': abstract says melanocytes lacking melanin.

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.