CHECKERED GARTER SNAKE Thamnophis marcianus – Baird & Girard 1853 Thamnophis marcianus marcianus – Baird & Girard 1853

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HABITAT: Chihuahua Grassland Habitat, Cochise Co., Arizona

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PERSONAL NOTES: I have never seen this species in Mexico; however, I have seen them very commonly in the Chihuahuan Grassland north of Agua Prieta in the San Bernardino Valley of [...]]]>
Adult, 4,200′, Cochise Co., Arizona

CHECKERED GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis marcianus – Baird & Girard 1853
Thamnophis marcianus marcianus – Baird & Girard 1853

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Chihuahua Grassland Habitat, Cochise Co., Arizona

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I have never seen this species in Mexico; however, I have seen them very commonly in the Chihuahuan Grassland north of Agua Prieta in the San Bernardino Valley of Cochise County, Arizona. They are often seen after thunderstorms, foraging on the roads at night.

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MEXICO HIGHLAND GARTER SNAKE Thamnophis pulchrilatus – Cope 1885

IDENTIFICATION: DISTRIBUTION: HABITAT: NATURAL HISTORY: TAXONOMY: This species was long confused with Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species with which it shares a striking resemblance (and is clearly closely allied to). TYPE: PERSONAL NOTES: My experiences with this species are limited. In August, 2004 I found two large adult snakes (one pictured above) 1/4 mile [...]]]>
Adult, 7,500′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

MEXICO HIGHLAND GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis pulchrilatus – Cope 1885

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This species was long confused with Thamnophis cyrtopsis, a species with which it shares a striking resemblance (and is clearly closely allied to).
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My experiences with this species are limited. In August, 2004 I found two large adult snakes (one pictured above) 1/4 mile apart on a dirt road near Miquihuana, Tamaulipas on the slope (7500′) of Cerro Pena Nevada. It was mid-day with partly cloudy skies, and the snakes were very easily spooked once we set foot out of the vehicle we were travelling in. The habitat was low scrubby growth, just below the pine/oak zone.
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DISTRIBUTION: Distributed throughout the Rio Casas Grandes drainage of northwestern Chihuahua, to around 2,050 m Elevation.

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TAXONOMY: Some authorities consider lowei to be a synonym of the subspecies dorsalis, which occurs along the Rio Grande of New Mexico.

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PERSONAL NOTES: I have no experience with this [...]]]> LOWE’S GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis sirtalis – Linnaeus 1758
Thamnophis sirtalis lowei – Tanner 1988

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Distributed throughout the Rio Casas Grandes drainage of northwestern Chihuahua, to around 2,050 m Elevation.

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Some authorities consider lowei to be a synonym of the subspecies dorsalis, which occurs along the Rio Grande of New Mexico.

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I have no experience with this subspecies.

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DISTRIBUTION: The New Mexico Garter Snake has never been recorded from Mexico. Habitat along the Rio Grande is highly altered by agriculture and industry, but snakes may persist along canals in the immediate vicinity of Cuidad Juarez. In the United States this [...]]]> NEW MEXICO GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis sirtalis – Linnaeus 1758
Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis – Baird & Girard 1853

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The New Mexico Garter Snake has never been recorded from Mexico. Habitat along the Rio Grande is highly altered by agriculture and industry, but snakes may persist along canals in the immediate vicinity of Cuidad Juarez. In the United States this snake occurs along the Rio Grande Valley from around Albuquerque south to at least Las Cruces.

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Historically this snake occured along the Rio Grande, inhabiting both the main river channel and any associated marshes, oxbows or other aquatic environs. In addition, it is now found around man-made impoundments, and especially the networks of canals that feed the seasonally irrigated agriculture fields that line the Rio Grande Valley.

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I have no experience with this subspecies in Mexico, or the United States.

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MEXICO RIBBON SNAKE Thamnophis proximus – Say 1823 Thamnophis proximus rutiloris – Cope 1885

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DISTRIBUTION: Thamnophis proximus rutiloris is the most widespread Ribbon Snake in Mexico. It occurs along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southern Tamaulipas (where it intergrades with the northern subspecies orarius around Soto la Marina and Cuidad Victoria), southward through San Luis [...]]]>
Adult, DOR, 100′, Guerrero, Mexico

MEXICO RIBBON SNAKE
Thamnophis proximus – Say 1823
Thamnophis proximus rutiloris – Cope 1885

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Thamnophis proximus rutiloris is the most widespread Ribbon Snake in Mexico. It occurs along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from southern Tamaulipas (where it intergrades with the northern subspecies orarius around Soto la Marina and Cuidad Victoria), southward through San Luis Potosi (being distributed inland along the drainages of the Rio Panuco, such as Rio Verde) , Veracruz, Tabasco and Campeche where it’s distribution becomes spotty in the Yucatan Peninsula. On the Pacific Coast it occurs in two disjunct populations: one around Tehuantepec, Oaxaca and another extending along the eastern 2/3 of coastal Guerrero (from around Ixtapa to the Oaxaca border).

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Pacific Lowland Habitat, 100′, Guerrero, Mexico

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I have little experience with this ribbon snake. The individual pictured above was found DOR, on Mexico Hwy 200 a short distance west of Acapulco in July, 2005. In May, 2003 I found a DOR between Aldama and Manuel on Hwy 180, Tamaulipas. The latter snake probably represented a rutiloris x orarius intergrade (not photographed due to the poor condition it was in).

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DURANGO NARROW-HEADED GARTER SNAKE Thamnophis nigronuchalis – Thompson 1957

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HABITAT: Habitat, 7,000′, Durango, Mexico Habitat, 7,000′, Durango, Mexico

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HABITAT: Cloud Forest Clearing Habitat, 4,700′, Tamaulipas, Mexico Cloud Forest, 4,800′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

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