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Checkered Garter Snake
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
- Family: Colubridae ("typical" snakes)
- Subfamily: Natricinae (garter and water snakes)
- Genus: Thamnophis (garter and ribbon
snakes)
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Also Known As: Marcy's
Garter Snake |
Scientific Name: Thamnophis
marcianus marcianus (Baird & Girard, 1853) |
Habitat: Grasslands,
usually near a water source. |
Thamnos="bush," ophis="snake,"
marcianus in honor of 19th-century Army Inspector General
Randolph B. Marcy
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Length: Up to 3.5 feet
long. |
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Food: Fish, frogs,
tadpoles, earthworms and slugs. Will also take small
vertebrates. |
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This snake was found by Erik
and me on 22 March 2003 in a vacant lot in San Antonio. It
was sheltered under a discarded board. Checkered garters are
fairly common in this area. |
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Here's one from 09 March
2003. Erik had picked it up first, and it didn't seem to
mind. When he gave it to me, it decided to go on the
offensive and attempted to swallow my index finger! It drew
blood and worked a little saliva into the bite but I didn't
experience any reaction (some people have been known to develop
allergic reactions to garter saliva). Photo taken by Erik--I
had my hands full! |
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