Japanese forest rat snake; burrowing rat snake
A non-venomous snake native to Japan, often found in forests and known for burrowing.
The Japanese forest rat snake is endemic to Japan and mainly inhabits forests.
We often see burrowing rat snakes around here.
Usually written in katakana; the kanji forms 地潜 and 地潜り are rare.
Rare kanji spelling.
Rare kanji spelling with okurigana.
The name ジムグリ (地潜) literally means 'ground burrower', from 地 (ji, 'ground') and 潜り (muguri, 'diving' or 'burrowing'), referring to its burrowing behavior.