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Project Noah Nature School
Thamnophis elegans terrestris
Thamnophis atratus grows up to 18-40 inches (46–102 cm) long. Its dorsal coloration varies greatly. The different coloration patterns are: pale gray with alternating rows of darker blotches on the sides, dark brown with borders that are less distinct, or nearly all black. A long yellow stripe running down the back may be present or absent, only confined to the neck, or just very indistinct. The throat and underside of the snake are whitish to yellow. One variety of this snake has a blue-gray background color with a faint olive-colored dorsal stripe and white dots along its sides. Another morph has a yellow dorsal stripe with black spots along its sides. The second variation has the more classic garter snake look; however, due to its behavior and scalation, it is grouped in this species. Wikipedia
UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens Japanese Pool, Berkeley, CA.
Spotted on May 20, 2012
Submitted on May 23, 2012
5 Comments
Thank you for the ID mmarchiano!
That's great S.jo! I'm going to have to get over there to see the baby newts and the old rose garden is my favorite spot.
I love the gardens and go almost weekly! My own spotting of a garter snake happened here, along with two types of newt, dragonflies, (and, of course, beautiful flora). Everyone should visit now, while the newts are still around (the babies are starting to show up and are getting bigger!) and the snakes are easy to spot. I also highly recommend the magnificent Old Rose Garden, and a trek down the "mexico" and "Eastern U.S." paths, which many people skip because they are less planned/ obviously floral.
This is the second one I spotted here. The first was during the newt mating period:http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/10011243
I love the gardens--have fun!
Wow Misako,a very unusual place to find a garter snake!!
I am planning to visit these gardens next week.