Garter snake

Garter snake ‒ also called garden snake or gardener snake ‒ is the common name given to harmless, small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus Thamnophis. Endemic to North America, they can be found from the Subarctic plains of Canada to Central America. The garter snake is the state reptile of Massachusetts.

With no real consensus on the classification of species of Thamnophis, disagreement between taxonomists and sources, such as field guides, over whether two types of snakes are separate species or subspecies of the same species is common. Garter snakes are closely related to the genus Nerodia (water snakes), with some species having been moved back and forth between genera.

Habitat

Garter snakes are present throughout most of North America. They have a wide distribution due to their varied diets and adaptability to different habitats, with varying proximity to water; however, in the western part of North America, these snakes are more aquatic than in the eastern portion. Garter snakes populate a variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, fields, grasslands, and lawns. They almost exclusively inhabit areas with some form of water, often an adjacent wetland, stream, or pond. This reflects the fact that amphibians are a large part of their diet.

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Eastern Garter Snake

The Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) is a medium-sized snake that is indigenous to North America.

Taxonomy and evolution

The scientific name Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis is a combination of Ancient Greek and New Latin that means "bush snakes that looks like a garter strap". The genus name "Thamnophis" is derived from the Greek "thamnos" (bush) and "ophio" (snake) and the New Latin "siratalis" (like a garter). The species name siratalis is a reference to the snake's pattern resembling a striped garter strap.

Description

Eastern Garter snakes average between 46–66 cm (18–26 in) long. The largest recorded length was 124 cm (48.7 in) long. Females are typically larger than males. They are either a greenish, brown, or black color and have a distinct yellow or white stripe.

Bluestripe Garter Snake

Description: Average adult size is 20–26 inches (50.8-66 cm), record is 39.25 inches (99.6 cm). Adults are olive–brown to blue–black with a light blue mid–dorsal stripe. There is an additional light blue stripe on each side of the body occupying the 2nd and 3rd dorsal scale rows above the belly. Frequently there are light tannish fleckings on each side between the mid–dorsal and lateral stripes. The belly is uniform whitish–blue. The scales of the upper lip are outlined with black markings. The scales are keeled, and there are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juveniles are similar to adults.

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Snake

Snakes are elongated, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads with their highly mobile jaws. To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca.

Living snakes are found on every continent except Antarctica, and on most smaller land masses — exceptions include some large islands, such as Ireland and New Zealand, and many small islands of the Atlantic and central Pacific. Additionally, sea snakes are widespread throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. More than 20 families are currently recognized, comprising about 500 genera and about 3,400 species. They range in size from the tiny, 10 cm-long thread snake to the reticulated python of up to 6.95 meters (22.8 ft) in length. The fossil species Titanoboa cerrejonensis was 13 meters (43 ft) long. Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago. The diversity of modern snakes appeared during the Paleocene period (c 66 to 56 Ma ago). The oldest preserved descriptions of snakes can be found in the Brooklyn Papyrus.