The blackbelly garter snake (''Thamnophis melanogaster'') is a species of snake of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Colubridae
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...
. It is found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Authority
First described as ''Tropidonotus melanogaster'' by
Peters in 1864, this species is now recognized as ''Thamnophis melanogaster''.
Geographic range
It is found on the
Central Mexican Plateau at elevations between 1,158 and 2,545 m above sea level.
Description
The
dorsal color of these snakes may be brown, olive green, gray, red, orange, or pink.
Ventral colors include the same as the dorsal, with the addition of yellow. Dorsal patterns may include stripes and there is typically a black stripe running down the center of the belly,
which explains both the common and scientific names for this species. There is little or no difference in size between the sexes of Blackbelly garter snakes.
Habitat
This is a
terrestrial species that occurs in
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
habitats. Although it lives on land, it has not been found more than 15 m from a body of water.
Reproduction
Blackbelly garter snakes are
ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...
.
Diet
These snakes feed exclusively under water and they are the only known ''Thamnophis'' to prey on soft-bodied crayfish. They have a highly variable diet that also includes fish, frogs, tadpoles, leeches, and earthworms. Good underwater vision and chemical cues help the snakes find and capture their prey.
Subspecies
Four
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are known:
*
gray blackbelly garter snake, ''T. m. canescens''
Smith, 1942
*
Chihuahuan blackbelly garter snake, ''T. m. chihuahuaensis''
Tanner
Tanner may refer to:
* Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides
People
* Tanner (given name),
* Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...
, 1959
*
lined blackbelly garter snake, ''T. m. linearis''
Smith,
Nixon &
Smith, 1950
*
Mexican blackbelly garter snake, ''T. m. melanogaster'' (
Wiegmann, 1830)
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''melanogaster'' is composed of two Greek words, ''melanos'', which means black and ''gaster'', which means belly.
Bibliography
*
*
* Peters, W. 1864. Über einige neue Säugethiere (Mormops, Macrotus, Vesperus, Molossus, Capromys), Amphibien (Plathydactylus, Otocryptis, Euprepes, Ungalia, Dromicus, Tropidonotus, Xenodon, Hylodes), und Fische Sillago, Sebastes, Channa, Myctophum, Carassius, Barbus, Mber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin
864
__NOTOC__
Year 864 ( DCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – Emperor Louis II (the Younger) marches with a Frankish army ag ...
381–399.
* Wiegmann, A. F. A. 1830. Preisverzeichnis der Säugethiere, Vögel, Amphibien, Fische und Krebse, welche von Hrn Deppe und Schiede in Mexico gesammelt worden. Berlin, 1.Sept. 1930.
References
*
External links
*
IUCN Range MapiNaturalist Blackbelly Garter Snake page
Thamnophis
Reptiles described in 1864
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
Reptiles of Mexico
{{Natricinae-stub