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Eastern Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

Description:

The garter snake (Thamnophis) is a slightly venomous colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from the Alaskan Panhandle to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptiles in North America.[citation needed] The garter snake is also the Massachusetts state reptile.[2] With no real consensus on the classification of species of Thamnophis, disagreement among taxonomists and sources, such as field guides, over whether two types of snakes are separate species or subspecies of the same species is common.[citation needed] They are also closely related to the snakes of the genus Nerodia with some species having been moved back and forth between genera.

Habitat:

Garter snakes spread throughout North America. The common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) is the only species of snake to be found in Alaska, and is one of the northernmost species of snake in the world, possibly second only to the crossed viper (Vipera berus). The genus is far ranging due to its less discriminant diet and adaptability to different biomes and landforms, with varying proximity to water; however, in the western part of North America, these snakes are more aquatic than in the eastern portion. Northern populations hibernate in larger groups than southern ones.

1 Species ID Suggestions

eastern garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis Eastern Gartersnake


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11 Comments

Scott Frazier
Scott Frazier 9 years ago

Thanks Jim. Sorry if I seem to belabor this but best to get it right all at once I think. The fact that this appears to be "an unstriped checkered morph" of the eastern gartersnake is very interesting. (Again, that's what I think). That's the kind of thing that should be prioritized for the "Description". Most users don't know it but really the fields "Description", "Habitat" and "Notes" are first and foremost for "their" spotting. This is all in the FAQs http://www.projectnoah.org/faq So Project Noah (PN) wants to know about YOUR spotting. There's no need to provide "copied and pasted" general species information. That's what the three reference link spaces are for, while hopefully also supporting the identification you provide. Other links can be copied to "Notes" if need be. Your spotting is a species observation, a "datapoint". When you link it with specific information like the habitat where you actually photographed it, that adds scientific value to it. To give the full species range only, adds nothing new to our knowledge, because we can already get or know this from say, Wikipedia. Hope this helps. :-)

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

Thanks, Scott. I think I have everything fixed, now.

Scott Frazier
Scott Frazier 9 years ago

Hello. I do not think this is Thamnophis marcianus. I suggested the eastern garter snake "species". I am suggesting that it is a variation (morph) of the extremely variable Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. Did you see the eastern gartersnake image on the third link I sent you from West Virginia http://www.albinogartersnake.com/article... ? As for the common name please only use "eastern gartersnake". All of the descriptive terms about being unstriped, checkered, and in a defensive posture can be talked about in the description. :-)

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

Thanks, Scott. Does the checkered morph appear in NW Pennsylvania? Wikipedia says SW US, Mexico, and Central America.

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

Thanks, Machi. I hadn't thought of that. Great idea!

Machi
Machi 9 years ago

Maybe you should look into the juvenile forms of Pennsylvania snakes as well since some juveniles snakes have different patterns than adults of their species

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

In looking around, I see that the snake's range in California, Arizona, New Mexico. Texas and Kansas. This is W. PA. Also, the guy who took the picture said there was no stripe like you would expect on a garter snake. The length was about 15" long.

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

Hey, thanks for the comment. I DOES look like a checkered garter snake. The head threw me. I blew up the picture a bit and it does look like a viper head. My friend who took the picture said at first he was thinking it was a garter snake but was acting very aggressive and was striking.

ThatBlueEyedGirl
ThatBlueEyedGirl 9 years ago

Looks like a checkered garter snake, but in this picture it appears to have the head of a viper

JimJohnson2
JimJohnson2 9 years ago

Could this be an Eastern Massasauga?

JimJohnson2
Spotted by
JimJohnson2

Pennsylvania, USA

Spotted on Jun 3, 2014
Submitted on Jun 3, 2014

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