It has been suggested that Pantherophis guttatus can be split into three species: Pantherophis guttatus, Pantherophis emoryi (corresponding with the subspecies Pantherophis guttatus emoryi) and Pantherophis slowinskii (occurring in western Louisiana and adjacent Texas) [REF].
Pantherophis guttatus was previously placed in the genus Elaphe, but Elaphe was found to be paraphyletic by Utiger et al., leading to placement of this species in the genus Pantherophis [REF].