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The two-striped garter snake (''Thamnophis hammondii'') is a
The two-striped garter snake (''Thamnophis hammondii'') is a species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of aquatic garter snake
Garter snake is a common name for generally harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus ''Thamnophis'' in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus ''Thamnophis'' can be found from the ...
, which is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to western North America.
Taxonomy and etymology
The specific name ''hammondii'' is in honor ofWilliam A. Hammond
William Alexander Hammond (28 August 1828 – 5 January 1900) was an American military physician and neurologist. During the American Civil War he was the eleventh Surgeon General of the United States Army (1862–1864) and the founder of the ...
, the U.S. Army surgeon who collected the first specimens.
Description
T. hammondii is a medium-sized snake, 18-30 inches in total length (including tail), with a head barely wider than the neck. Two common color variations occur in the wild, a striped variant and a checkered variant. The striped variant has a yellowish lateral stripe on each side, and a fairly uniform dorsal coloring. The checkered variant lacks the lateral stripes and has two rows of small dark spots on each side.Geographic range, habitat, and diet
The two-striped garter snake is found in western North America, ranging from centralCalifornia
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
to Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, 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 ...
. It is a highly aquatic species, and prefers habitat adjacent to permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water. This species feeds primarily on fish and amphibians.
References
Further reading
* 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 ordinatus'' Var. ''hammondi'', p. 210). * 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. (''Eutænia hammondii'', new species, p. 332). * Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (''Thamnophis hammondii'', p. 249 + Plate 28). * Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (paperback), (hardcover). (''Thamnophis couchi hammondi'', p. 150). * Stebbins RC (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition''. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp. . (''Thamnophis hammondii'', pp. 385–386 + Figure 27 on p. 383 + Plate 49 + Map 167). * Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). ''A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (''Thamnophis hammondi'', p. 101). * Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (''Thamnophis elegans hammondi'', pp. 788–791, Figure 226 + Map 58 on p. 763). Thamnophis Snakes of North America Fauna of California Fauna of the Baja California Peninsula Reptiles of Mexico Reptiles of the United States Reptiles described in 1860 Taxa named by Robert Kennicott Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Colubrids-stub