Observations on garter snakes of the Thamnophis eques complex in the lakes of Mexico's transvolcanic belt, with descriptions of new taxa

Title Variants

Alternative: Garter snakes in Mexico's transvolcanic belt

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3406

By

Conant, Roger, 1909-2003

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2003

Notes

Title from caption.

Abstract also in Spanish.

"May 22, 2003."

"There are many isolated endorheic lakes in the transvolcanic belt of Mexico, which are the result of volcanism or extreme flooding. Organisms living in the lakes have had ample time to differentiate, and endemism is well known and documented, especially among the fishes. Other organisms also show endemism, including salamanders, crayfish, and even birds and mammals. The same is true for the garter snake, Thamnophis eques (Reuss). Seven new subspecies are described in this paper, each from a different lake or from the remnants of a former large lake. Based on morphological differences in coloration and pattern, they are Thamnophis eques cuitzeoensis from El Lago de Cuitzeo, Thamnophis eques patzcuaroensis from El Lago de Pátzcuaro, Thamnophis eques insperatus from La Laguna de Zacapu, Thamnophis eques obscurus from El Lago de Chapala, Thamnophis eques diluvialis from Las Lagunas Atotonilco and Cajititlán and several isolated localities, Thamnophis eques scotti from El Lago de Magdalena, and Thamnophis eques carmenensis from La Lagunilla del Carmen. Among six of these, series of specimens were collected and studied in detail. The seventh (insperatus) is known only from a single imperfect individual"--P. 3.

Subjects

Classification , Endemic animals , Garter snakes , Lake animals , Mexico , Reptiles , Snakes , Thamnophis eques , Transverse Volcanic Range

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3406, 2003

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2003)406<0001:OOGSOT>2.0.CO;2
OCLC: 52322110