Wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans hm 307348 wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans hm 307347 wandering garter snake. The northwestern garter snake is the most variable in color and patterning of all oregon snake species. Discover lifes page about the biology, natural history, ecology, identification and distribution of thamnophis elegans mountain garter snake discover life. The ecology of garter snakes, thamnophis sirtalis and t. Thamnophis elegans alabama chintokchakkosi, biloxi ndesi kdexi, cajun french serpent deau, central nahuatl acoate, central tarahumara baka ra chi, baku suri, macarachi, chickasaw sinti okchamali, sintokchamali, choctaw pachalhpali, sinti basoa, dutch kousenbandslang, english american garter snake, american ribbon snake, arizona garter snake, arizona wandering garter snake, culebra. It is common and widely distributed across southern portions of the province, including the south coast, and north through the interior to the peace river district gregory. The duvernoys secretion of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans is highly toxic to mice, causing marked hemorrhaging in the lungs, diaphragm, mesentery and stomach lining, as well as mild local hemorrhaging. Thamnophis elegans vagrans baird and girard, 1853 wandering garter snake. Following a prolonged bite by a large specimen of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans, symptoms of envenomation rapidly develope. Molecular adaptations for sensing and securing prey and. Range in california, this subspecies, thamnophis elegans vagrans wandering gartersnake, is found east of the southern sierra nevada mountains. I had originally identified these as thamnophis cyrtopis, blacknecked gartersnakes, which do live in this area and do have surprise. The scientific name thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis is a combination of ancient greek and new latin that means bush snake that looks like a garter strap.
The wandering garter is the widestranging of six subspecies of the western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans, and the only one found in canada. This elegant little garter snake is a frequent visitor to many backyards throughout its range. Wandering gartersnake thamnophis elegans vagrans is the only subspecies of terrestrial. Systemic hemorrhaging was most pronounced in mice receiving doses approximating the p. Using the garter snake genome, we show how snakes have evolved numerous adaptations for sensing and. Wild herps terrestrial gartersnake thamnophis elegans. The subspecies of western terrestrial garter snake found. We measured crawling speed, swimming speed, tongueflicking rate, digestive rate, and oxygen consumption at tbs of 535 c in snakes. There are usually two additional thin light stripes on the 2nd and 3rd scale rows. Envenomation following the bite of a wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans. Three subspecies of thamnophis elegans are found in california t. Wandering garter snake subspecies thamnophis elegans vagrans. Multiple paternity in the western terrestrial garter snake.
Found in northern siskiyou and modoc counties in california and in south central oregon, this intergrade was once considered a unique subspecies. Envenomation following the bite of a wandering garter. The western terrestrial wandering gartersnake is found in a confusing array of striped and nonstriped forms, with or without black spots. Human envenomation from a wandering garter snake sciencedirect. Wandering garter snake subspecies thamnophis elegans. The thermal dependence of locomotion, tongue flicking. Scott felzers garter snakes, specializing in aberrant garters. The toxic duvernoys secretion of the wandering garter. Wandering gartersnake gartersnake research project.
Western terrestrial wanderinggarter snake reptiles of bc. These snakes often continue growing over their reproductive lifespan and exhibit considerable intraspeci. Wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans wc isolated from males for 4 years nine offspring, 21 yolked ova multiple litters not recorded four live, five dead two normal in appearance, two partially formed, one developmental abnormalities automixis schuett et al. Thamnophis elegans occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, and coniferous. Envenomation following the bite of a wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans clinical toxicology. Here, we report and analyze the genome of the garter snake, thamnophis sirtalis, a colubrid snake that is an important model species for research in evolutionary biology, physiology, genomics, behavior, and the evolution of toxin resistance. Garter snakes make great pets, from beginners to even the most advanced hobbyist. Behavioral comparisons were made of two populations of the garter snake thamnophis elegans. In canada, thamnophis elegans is highly aquatic, rarely found far from water, although as its common name suggests, it. Thamnophis elegans arizonae thamnophis elegans elegans thamnophis elegans terrestris thamnophis elegans vagrans thamnophis elegans vascotanneri thamnophis elegans hueyi pictures of thamnophis elegans. The subspecies of western terrestrial garter snake found in b. Utah milk snake lampropeltis triangulum taylori rare wandering western garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans common valley common garter snake thamnophis sirtalis fitchi uncommon great basin gopher snake pituophis catenifer deserticola uncommon desert night snake hypsiglena torquata deserticola rare.
Thamnophis elegans vagrans pdf version of this page. In this small area of around 100 square kilometers, located in. Pdf dependence of the garter snake thamnophis elegans on. Individuals were iden tified by clipping ventral scales brown and parker 1976.
If you have questions about keeping garter snakes as pets, start with the care guide. Rossman, ford, and seigel 1996 emphasize that a detailed study of geographic variation throughout the range of. The patient, who was bitten on his right third fingertip, rapidly developed local edema, ecchymosis, and hemorrhagic vesicles. Bird predation on the garter snake thamnophis elegans near eagle lake in california introduction. Envenomation following the bite of a wandering garter snake. The western terrestrial garter snake, thamnophis elegans, has one of the largest ranges in the genus and is characterized by a generalized diet over most of its species range. Bryan jennings and others published dependence of the garter snake. This snake was first described as species new to science in 1942. Welcome to the official web site of scott felzers garter snakes. Subsequently, some authors have noted similarities between northern populations of the mexican wandering garter snake and southern subspecies of the western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans, leading them to reclassify the former as another subspecies of the western.
Wandering gartersnake thamnophis elegans vagrans wandering gartersnake, red phase identification. Arnold despite widespread belief that selection molds thermoregulatory behaviors, direct. We report a case of human envenomation from the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans. But a gartersnake breeder from holland, steven bol, informed me that these look just like young t. Garter snakes, once considered soley a beginners snake, are becoming more and more popular as pets. Duvernoys secretion from the wandering garter snake t. Northwestern chihuahua to western zacatecas in mexico. Thamnophis elegans mountain garter snake discover life.
High altitude populations of this subspecies in california might breed later. Sep 08, 2002 i had originally identified these as thamnophis cyrtopis, blacknecked gartersnakes, which do live in this area and do have surprise. The generic name thamnophis is derived from the greek thamnos bush and ophis snake and the new latin siratalis like a garter, a reference to the snake s pattern resembling a. Western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans. The western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans has six recognized subspecies. Wandering gartersnake thamnophis elegans vagrans is the only subspecies of terrestrial gartersnake see crowther 2008 for current taxonomy in british columbia. Some notes on wandering garter snakes, thamnophis elegans. Diet and foraging behavior of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans at umtanum creek, kittitas county, washington. The body temperature tb of garter snakes thamnophis elegans can vary considerably in the course of a day e. A medium to large up to 900 mm or 36 in total length gray, brown, or orangebrown snake with a single cream colored stripe down the midline of the back dorsal stripe. Garter snakes are not picky and will eat almost any creature that they are able to catch including small fish, amphibians, small mammals, earthworms, slugs, and leeches.
Characteristics wandering garter snakes thamnophis elegans vagrens are medium sized snakes with a head a little wider than the neck and keeled dorsal scales. Species terrestrial gartersnake thamnophis elegans. Wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans hm 307348 wandering garter snake. Daily variation in the body temperatures of freeranging. Topics concerning breeding of the garter snakes and or problems related to breeding of garter snakes. Relationship between mass and snake svl by sex for thamnophis elegans n 5 119 collected at umtanum creek, washington, may through september 2005. The dorsal stripe can be absent or resplendent in various shades and colors, such as red, orange, greenish yellow, tan, blue or white. Active and inact i ve snakes were observed dur ing the abundance sampling period and from 22 t o 24 june and 18 to 19 jul y 1983. The dorsal stripe is often well defined and straight down the back in yellow, orange, cream or white but can be irregular looking because of black markings. We report a case of human envenomation from the wandering. Wandering garter snake bighorn canyon national recreation. Terrestrial gartersnake thamnophis elegans montana field guide.
Effects of temperature on embryo mortality in the garter snake thamnophis elegans ryan p. Six female and four male garter snakes snoutvent length 482703 mm, mass 50209 g were collected and brought to the laboratory. An ecological study of the garter snake, thamnophis sirtalis. Rossman, ford, and seigel 1996 emphasize that a detailed study of geographic variation throughout the range of thamnophis elegans is badly needed.
Most recent records some records may be hidden from the public. Laboratoryborn snakes of both populations were compared for their tendency to eat fish and their aquatic foraging behavior. The ribbon garter snake thamnophis proximus figure 3 is uncommon and is found in isolated areas in the far eastern portion of nebraska. Arnold 1982 of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans have been published, but fitch 1940, drummond and burghardt 1983 and others have demonstrated large variations in the ecological characteristics between local populations of this abundant and wideranging species fig.
Taxonomy family colubridae colubrids genus thamnophis north american gartersnakes species elegans western terrestrial gartersnake subspecies vagrans wandering gartersnake original description thamnophis elegans baird and girard, 1853 cat. Lives mainly in and near water, such as lakes and rivers. The western terrestrial or wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans figure 4 is rare and has been found only in the extreme northwest corner of. The western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans occurs in a. We investigated the intraspecific variation in digestive energetics between dietary specialist and generalist populations of the western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans in northern california. The duvernoys secretion of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans is highly toxic to mice, causing marked hemorrhaging in the lungs.
Common name wandering garter snake scientific name thamnophis elegans family colubridae length up to about 100 cm reproduction livebearing general status sensitive wandering garter snake plains garter snake photo. Wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans wandering garter snake. The toxic duvernoys secretion of the wandering garter snake. The western terrestrial garter snake thamnophis elegans is a western north american species of colubrid snake. They are small by colubrid standards rarely exceeding 4 feet in length, inquisitive by nature.
Extension garter snakes in and z1782 around the home. Following a prolonged bite by a large specimen of the wandering garter snake thamnophis elegans vagrans, symptoms of envenomation rapidly developed. Gartersnake see crowther 2008 for current taxonomy in british. Smith in 1942, is now considered a separate species, t. Thamnophis elegans terrestris fox, 1951 coast garter snake. Melanistic wandering gartersnake thamnophis elegans vagrans.
The generic name thamnophis is derived from the greek thamnos bush and ophis snake and the new latin siratalis like a garter, a reference to the snakes pattern resembling a striped garter strap. Multiple paternity in the western terrestrial garter snake, thamnophis elegans article in canadian journal of zoology 835. Thamnophis elegans vascotanneri tanner and lowe, 1989 upper basin garter snake. Coastal populations have a specialized diet of slugs and inland populations have a generalized diet of fish, anurans, mice and leeches. I did some further investigation and realized he was right. The mexican wandering garter snake, first described as thamnophis elegans errans by hobart m.
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