Pantherophis is a proposed genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to North America and Central America, commonly called ratsnakes or rat snakes. All are powerful constrictors and help control rodent populations. Some taxonomic classification systems have accepted the proposed classification, while others have not. However, the ICZN rejected the renaming, and thus Elaphe remains the more widely recognized and broadly accepted genus name. The ITIS also identifies all species names that use Pantherophis as "invalid" names – using Elaphe consistently for listings marked as valid.