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Green ratsnake

Senticolis triaspis

Description:

A long (up to 63"), plain green to yellowish green snake with an underside that grades from creamy white on the throat to yellowish underneath the tail. Hatchlings are gray and boldly patterned with a series of dark blotches down the back and smaller blotches on the sides. The juvenile pattern fades and becomes suffused with green as individuals age. This crepuscular snake is seldom found late into the evening. Adults feed on rodents, bats, birds, and lizards. Juveniles might rely more heavily on lizards. (from "A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona")

Habitat:

Open desert

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7 Comments

GeoffreyPalmer
GeoffreyPalmer 11 years ago

I definitely thought about this quite a bit before creating the mission, and I should have perhaps kept it to an ecological region, the desert, rather than delineated it by state. Southern California has more in common with the biota of AZ & NM than Oklahoma does, but I wanted to keep it simple. Plus Oklahoma and Texas got dissed by the snakes of the southeast, and although some Texans may argue they deserve their own snake mission, I thought I would include you guys. Work for you?

Glad you pointed out the Region 2 thing, that's why I centered the mission around Albuquerque where the Region 2 office is!

I believe I've cruised that same road a bunch of times and have had terrible luck! >:( The closest I have come to something good was a DOR vinesnake. Other than that I have just seen the more common snakes there. AZ Game & Fish works pretty hard to discourage herp poachers, even employing an animatronic gila monster to catch thieves! They still get away though, a friend of mine studied twin-spotted rattlesnakes in the Chiricahua Mountains, and one day he got a call from a wildlife officer in Virginia. The officer had raided a pet shop there and confiscated a twin-spot that had a PIT-tag my friend had implanted during his field study, so I encourage AZGFD to stay vigilant! I still need to see a green ratsnake!

Aaron_G
Aaron_G 11 years ago

Now that I think about it, your grouping of states for this mission are most of USF&WS Region 2, which is OK, TX, NM, and AZ. Interesting. :-)

Aaron_G
Aaron_G 11 years ago

Thanks for the explanation. I have had this geographical discussion with a friend who majored in geography. I still don't see how the mid-western states are mid OR west, but somehow they are. Oklahoma is smack dab in the center of the continental United States, so if anyone is "mid," it's us. :-) He said if you look at historical and industrial factors, we're technically in the south, but nobody will buy that because "south" generally refers to the deep south, or Gulf Coast states. That's why I typically say "central plains" when talking about Oklahoma or the combination of TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, and ND.

I've cruised the same road where this spotting was found many times with no luck, so it will eventually go my way. I DID, however, get my first (and only) gila monster on this road, and that was important to me. The lyresnake in my collection is also from the same road. Can you tell it's chock full of good stuff?! Now you know why AZ Game & Fish patrols it like mad in the summer. Too many herp poachers know about it. :-(

GeoffreyPalmer
GeoffreyPalmer 11 years ago

Oklahoma and Texas are considered the Southwest by some, and in the end, when I created this mission I decided to include them because of a scientific journal I subscribe to and have published in called the Southwestern Naturalist. The journal is actually published out of Oklahoma and includes publications from research in OK and TX, so why not? They have to go somewhere, and why not in this mission?

And about the sighting, don't feel too bad, the only two Sonoran Mountain Kingsnakes I have photos of were both found by my buddy. I really have to find one on my own at some point!

Aaron_G
Aaron_G 11 years ago

I see this mission includes Oklahoma and Texas, which aren't typically considered part of the southwest. Is it your mission? Just curious because we're usually known as the central plains.

Aaron_G
Aaron_G 11 years ago

I sure will, Geoffrey. I have to admit that I didn't find this snake, so I still haven't technically checked it off my life list.

GeoffreyPalmer
GeoffreyPalmer 11 years ago

Awesome encounter! I spent many hours searching for this species to no avail. Consider adding this spotting to the Snakes of the Southwest Mission? http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1249...

Aaron_G
Spotted by
Aaron_G

Nogales, Arizona, USA

Spotted on Jul 30, 2009
Submitted on Mar 3, 2012

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