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Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Adult, Starr County, Texas |
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Habitat, irrigation canal, Imperial County
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Habitat, Colorado River, Imperial County |
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Description |
Nonvenomous |
| Gartersnakes have toxins in their saliva which can be deadly to their prey and their bite might produce an unpleasant reaction in humans, but they are not considered dangerous to humans. |
| Size |
| 13 - 42 inches long (32 - 107 cm). Normally found from 20 - 28 inches (51 - 71 cm). Neonates from 6.5 - 9.5 inches (17 - 24 cm). |
| Appearance |
| A medium-sized snake with a head barely wider than the neck and keeled dorsal scales. Tan, brown or yellowish brown with rows of large alternating black blotches arranged in a checkered pattern on the sides, and distinct yellowish stripes on the back and lower sides. There is a dark blotch on the back of each side of the head with a light area between the dark blotch and the corner of the mouth. The underside is pale and unmarked or smudged with dark pigment. |
| Behavior |
| Can be diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal, especially in hot weather. A good swimmer. May dive when startled. Like most gartersnakes, when picked up, this snake will often release its cloacal contents and musk. |
| Diet |
| Eats a large variety of prey: fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, small mammals, and invertebrates. |
| Reproduction |
| Bears live young from May to October. |
| Range |
| Found in southeast California along the Colorado river and the Imperial Valley in Imperial and Riverside counties. Elsewhere, ranges east through southern Arizona into New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, and south into Mexico. |
| Habitat |
| Found in grassland, semi-arid land, and deserts, typically near water. In California, inhabits areas near streams, rivers, irrigation ditches, and irrigated croplands, in the desert. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| There are three subspecies of Thamnophis marcianus, two occur in Mexico and south to Costa Rica. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| Possibly increasing their range due to irrigation in the desert. Apparently not negatively affected by introduced Bullfrogs. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Thamnophis |
North American Gartersnakes |
| Species |
marcianus |
Checkered Gartersnake |
Subspecies
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marcianus |
Marcy's Checkered Gartersnake |
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Original Description |
Thamnophis marcianus - (Baird and Girard, 1853) - Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. 1, p. 36
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Thamnophis - Greek - thamnos - shrub or bush, and ophis - snake, serpent
marcianus - honors Marcy, Randolph B.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Thamnophis marcianus - Checkered Garter Snake (no subspecies recognized)
Northern Checkered Gartersnake
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| Other California Gartersnakes |
T. a. atratus - Santa Cruz Gartersnake
T. a. hydrophilus - Oregon Gartersnake
T. a. zaxanthus - Diablo Range Gartersnake
T. couchii - Sierra Gartersnake
T. gigas - Giant Gartersnake
T. e. elegans - Mountain Gartersnake
T. e. terrestris - Coast Gartersnake
T. e. vagrans - Wandering Gartersnake
T. hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake
T. ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake
T. s. fitchi - Valley Gartersnake
T. s. infernalis - California Red-sided Gartersnake
T. s. tetrataenia - San Francisco Gartersnake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Rossman, Douglas A., Neil B, Ford, & Richard A. Siegel. The Garter Snakes - Evolution and Ecology. University of Oklahoma press, 1996.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This snake is not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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