Vanan
11-06-03, 01:03 PM
Just thought I'd share some pics of the only plains garter I photographed this fall. The rest were just tails going down the dens.
The taxonomy of T. r. "haydeni" is still up in the air. Some say both ssp ( T. r. radix and T. r. haydeni) are one and the same. Some are insistent about the distinction.
The reason why they were segregated was due to the fact that the western "race" exhibited brighter colours and very prominent orange dorsal stripe. The one pictured is not the brightest of specimens and not very orange all the way down, but still gives you a hint of what I'm talking about. The eastern "race" tends to have more of a yellow dorsal stripe.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter1.jpg">
Another very important reason why they are thought to be different is that "haydeni" show 21 scale rows across the neck and the nominate ssp shows 19. Normally it would only be the mid body scale rows which are counted.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter4.jpg">
The reason for me bringing this up, aside from the chance to post pics (Hee hee), is to see if anyone else know more about this taxonomical debate. I've been looking for info on the most current change and haven't turned up anything conclusive yet. Also if anyone on here, has seen and noticed how many scale rows there are on the eastern "race's" neck, or have noticed anything else different about the 2 ssp of T. radix, please feel free to contribute.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter3.jpg">
In any case, might give some of you out there something to think about. :)
The taxonomy of T. r. "haydeni" is still up in the air. Some say both ssp ( T. r. radix and T. r. haydeni) are one and the same. Some are insistent about the distinction.
The reason why they were segregated was due to the fact that the western "race" exhibited brighter colours and very prominent orange dorsal stripe. The one pictured is not the brightest of specimens and not very orange all the way down, but still gives you a hint of what I'm talking about. The eastern "race" tends to have more of a yellow dorsal stripe.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter1.jpg">
Another very important reason why they are thought to be different is that "haydeni" show 21 scale rows across the neck and the nominate ssp shows 19. Normally it would only be the mid body scale rows which are counted.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter4.jpg">
The reason for me bringing this up, aside from the chance to post pics (Hee hee), is to see if anyone else know more about this taxonomical debate. I've been looking for info on the most current change and haven't turned up anything conclusive yet. Also if anyone on here, has seen and noticed how many scale rows there are on the eastern "race's" neck, or have noticed anything else different about the 2 ssp of T. radix, please feel free to contribute.
<img src="http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/196pgarter3.jpg">
In any case, might give some of you out there something to think about. :)