West Coast garter snake

West Coast garter snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Thamnophis
Species:
T. validus
Binomial name
Thamnophis validus
Synonyms[2]

The West Coast garter snake (Thamnophis validus), also known commonly as Kennicott's water snake, is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Mexico. Four subspecies are recognized.

Geographic range

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T. validus is found in the Mexican states of Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Sonora.[2]

Reproduction

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T. validus is viviparous.[2]

Subspecies

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There are four subspecies of T. validus which are recognized as being valid, including the nominate subspecies.[2]

  • T. v. celaeno (Cope, 1861) – cape garter snake, Mexican Pacific lowlands garter snake
  • T. v. isabelleae (Conant, 1953)
  • T. v. thamnophisoides (Conant, 1961)
  • T. v. validus (Kennicott, 1860)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Thamnophis.

Etymology

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The subspecific name isabelleae is in honor of the American wildlife artist Isabelle Hunt Conant, the wife of the American herpetologist Roger Conant.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Ponce-Campos P, García Aguayo A (2007). "Thamnophis valida ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Species Thamnophis validus at The Reptile Database
  3. ^ Conant R (1953).

Further reading

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  • Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Tropidonotus validus, pp. 237–238).
  • Conant R (1953). "Three New Water Snakes of the Genus [Natrix] from Mexico". Natural History Miscellanea (126): 1–9. (Natrix valida isabelleae, new subspecies, pp. 7–9).
  • Conant R (1961). "A New Water Snake from Mexico, with Notes on Anal Plates and Apical Pits in Natrix and Thamnophis ". American Museum Novitates (2060): 1–22. (Natrix valida thamnophisoides, new subspecies, pp. 2–12, Figure 1).
  • Cope ED (1861). "Notes and descriptions of new and little known species of American Reptiles". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 12: 339–345. (Tropidonotus celaeno, new species, p. 341).
  • Heimes P (2016). Snakes of Mexico: Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. 572 pp. ISBN 978-3899731002. (Thamnophis validus, p. 385).
  • Kennicott R (1860). "Descriptions of New Species of North American Serpents in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12: 328–338. (Regina valida, new species, pp. 334–335).