You are here » home › advanced search › search results › Thamnophis melanogaster

Thamnophis melanogaster (PETERS, 1864)

IUCN Red List - Thamnophis melanogaster - Endangered, EN
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Thamnophis melanogaster?

Add your own observation of
Thamnophis melanogaster »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesThamnophis melanogaster canescens SMITH 1942
Thamnophis melanogaster chihuahuaensis TANNER 1959
Thamnophis melanogaster linearis SMITH, NIXON & SMITH 1950
Thamnophis melanogaster melanogaster (PETERS 1864) 
Common NamesE: Blackbelly Garter Snake
G: Mexikanische Schwarzbauch-Strumpfbandnatter
S: Jarretera Vientre-negro Mexicana 
SynonymTropidonotus melanogaster DEPPE 1830 (nomen nudum)
Tropidonotus melanogaster PETERS 1864: 389
Tropidonotus (Regina) mesomelanus JAN 1863 (nomen oblitum)
Eutaenia melanogaster — COPE 1885: 386
Regina mesomelana — COPE 1865: 74
Regina mesomelana — GARMAN 1887: 125
Tropidonotus melanogaster — BOULENGER 1893: 225
Eutaenia melanogaster — COPE 1900: 1086
Thamnophis melanogaster melanogaster — SMITH 1942: 116
Nerodia melanogaster — CHIASSON & LOWE 1989
Nerodia melanogaster — LINER 1994
Thamnophis (Nerodia) melanogaster — MUTSCHMANN 1995: 122
Thamnophis melanogaster — ROSSMAN et al. 1996
Thamnophis melanogaster — WALLACH et al. 2014: 723
Thamnophis melanogaster — CORTÉS-VÁZQUEZ et al. 2022

Thamnophis melanogaster canescens SMITH 1942
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens SMITH 1942: 117
Tropidonotus baronis-mülleri TROSCHEL in MÜLLER 1865: 610
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens — SMITH et al. 1950: 575
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens — CONANT 1963: 481
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens — WEBB 1984
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens — PETERSON 1995
Thamnophis melanogaster canescens — ROSSMAN et al. 1996

Thamnophis melanogaster chihuahuaensis TANNER 1959
Thamnophis melanogaster chihuahuaensis TANNER 1959
Thamnophis melanogaster chihuahuaensis — TANNER 1985: 653
Thamnophis melanogaster chihuahuaensis — ROSSMAN et al. 1996

Thamnophis melanogaster linearis SMITH, NIXON & SMITH 1950
Thamnophis melanogaster linearis SMITH, NIXON & SMITH 1950: 575
Thamnophis melanogaster linearis — ROSSMAN et al. 1996 
DistributionMexico (Distrito Federal, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Querétaro, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Sonora, Hidalgo).

canescens: Mexico (Durango, Jalisco); Type locality: Chapala, Lake Chapala, Jalisco.

chihuahuaensis: Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango) (HR 33: 69)

linearis: Type locality: “Lerma, México”  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesSyntypes ZMB 1996, 1946, 51781
Holotype: FMNH 100016, male [canescens]
Holotype: BYU 14197, an adult male, collected by Wilmer W. Tanner and Wilber G. Robison,Jr., 29 June, 1958; Paratypes:BYU 13371, 13373, 13451, 13493, 13496, 13505, 14198-202, 14208-10 topotypes: 14283, Cuiteco; KU 44275-78 11/2 mi. E Creel; MMZ 111495-96, Mojarachic; 111497, Areponapuchic, Chihuahua, Mexico [chihuahuaensis]
Holotype: FMNH 123872; formerly private collection HM Smith 15942, male [linearis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (identification): “Dorsal scales usually in a maximum of 19 rows (occasionally In supralabials usually 8; preoculars usually 2; maxillary teeth 24 to 32; the dorsum dark brown, olive, or tan, with or without 2 alternating rows of dark spots being visible; a light vertebral stripe present in some populations, absent in others; a light lateral stripe, if present, confined to dorsal scale row 2 or also involving adjacent edges of rows 1 and 3.” (Rossman 1996: 207)


Additional details (589 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: partly after BOULENGER 1893. See SMITH & CHISZAR (2001) for a comment on the name Tropidonotus (Regina) mesomelanus. Peters noted that the species was named by Wiegmann in 1830, without a description (Wiegmann’s name seems to be available). However, Deppe compiled the 1830 list, not Wiegmann, hence the describer is Peters 1864, see Gutsche 2016: 169 for details. 
EtymologyThe specific name melanogaster is derived from the Greek words melano, meaning "black" and gaster, meaning "belly." 
References
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) I. London (Taylor & Francis), 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Bourguignon, T. 2002. Strumpfbandnattern: Herkunft - Pflege - Arten. E. Ulmer Verlag, 125 pp.
  • Burbrink FT, Futterman I. 2019. Female‐ biased gape and body-size dimorphism in the New World watersnakes (tribe: Thamnophiini) oppose predictions from Rensch's rule. Ecol Evol. 00:1–10
  • Carbajal-Márquez, Rubén A. and Gustavo E. Quintero-Díaz 2016. The Herpetofauna of Aguascalientes, México. Revista Mexicana de Herpetología 2(1):
  • Carpenter, Charles C. 1977. Communication and Displays of Snakes. American Zoologist 17: 217-223 - get paper here
  • Chiasson,R.B. & LOWE,C.H. 1989. Ultrastructural scale pattens in Nerodia and Thamnophis. Journal of Herpetology 23 (2): 109-118 - get paper here
  • Conant, Roger 1963. Semiaquatic snakes of the genus Thamnophis from the isolated drainage system of the Río Nazas and adjacent areas of Mexico. Copeia 1963 (3): 473-499 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1885. A contribution to the herpetology of Mexico. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 22: 379-404 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1900. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Ann. Rep. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1898: 153-1270 - get paper here
  • Cortés-Vázquez, S., Núñez-Carrillo, L. C., Cruz-Sáenz, D., Carrasco-Ortiz, M. A., Rodríguez-López, A., Lazcano, D., ... & Wilson, L. D. 2022. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 29: Herpetofauna of Natural Protected Area “El Diente,” Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 57(10), 177-185 - get paper here
  • Cruz-Elizalde R, Ramírez-Bautista A, Pineda-López R, Mata-Silva V, DeSantis DL, García-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Rocha A, Fucsko LA, Wilson LD. 2022. The herpetofauna of Querétaro, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 16(1) [General Section]: 148–192 (e308) - get paper here
  • Dixon, James R. and Julio A. Lemos-Espinal 2010. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Queretaro, Mexico. Tlalnepantla UNAM, 428 pp.
  • Enderson, Erik F.; Thomas R. Van Devender, Robert L. Bezy 2014. Amphibians and reptiles of Yécora, Sonora and the Madrean Tropical Zone of the Sierra Madre Occidental in northwestern Mexico. Check List 10 (4): 913-926 - get paper here
  • Fernández-Badillo, Leonardo & Irene Goyenechea-Mayer Goyenechea 2010. Anfibios y reptiles del valle del Mezquital, Hidalgo, México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 81: 705- 712
  • Fernández-Badillo, Leonardo; Norma Leticia Manríquez-Morán; Jesús Martín Castillo-Cerón & Irene Goyenechea 2016. Análisis herpetofaunístico de la zona árida del estado de Hidalgo. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 156–170 - get paper here
  • Figueroa-Huitrón, R., de la Vega-Pérez, A. D., Plasman, M., & Pérez-Mendoza, H. A. 2024. Physiological thermal responses of three Mexican snakes with distinct lifestyles. PeerJ, 12, e17705
  • García, C.M. & H. Drummond 1990. Population Differences in Fish-capturing Ability of the Mexican Aquatic Garter Snake (Thamnophis melanogaster) Journal of Herpetology 24 (4): 412-416. - get paper here
  • Garman, S. 1887. Reptiles and batrachians from Texas and Mexico. Bull. Essex Inst. 19: 119-138
  • González Fernández A, Manjarrez J, García-Vázquez U, D’Addario M, Sunny A. 2017. Environmental niche modeling; present and future potential distribution of garter snakes species from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. PeerJ Preprints 5:e3476v1 - get paper here
  • Gregory, T. G., L. A. Gregory, J. M. Macartney 1983. Color pattern variation in Thamnophis melanogaster. Copeia 1983 (2): 530-534 - get paper here
  • Gutsche, A. 2016. Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (1802–1841) und sein Beitrag zur Herpetologie der Neotropis am Zoologischen Museum Berlin. Mertensiella 23: 156–169
  • HALLAS, JOSHUA M.; THOMAS L. PARCHMAN & CHRIS R. FELDMAN. 2021. Phylogenomic analyses resolve relationships among garter snakes (Thamnophis: Natricinae: Colubridae) and elucidate biogeographic history and morphological evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 107374. [2022 in print] - get paper here
  • Hallmen, M. & Chlebowy, J. 2001. Strumpfbandnattern. Natur und Tier Verlag (Münster), 192 pp. - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 572 pp
  • Jan, G. 1863. Elenco Sistematico degli Ofidi descriti e disegnati per l'Iconografia Generale. Milano, A. Lombardi. vii + 143 pp. - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR 2020. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of the State of Mexico, Mexico with comparisons with adjoining states. ZooKeys 953: 137-159 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR 2020. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico City, with comparisons with adjoining states. ZooKeys 951: 109-131 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Gadsden-Esparza H, Valdez-Lares R, Woolrich-Piña GA 2018. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Durango, Mexico, with comparisons with adjoining states. ZooKeys 748: 65-87 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Pierce LJS, Painter CW 2020. The amphibians and reptiles of Colima, Mexico, with a summary of their conservation status. ZooKeys 927: 99-125 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Rorabaugh JC 2019. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sonora, Mexico, with updated species lists. ZooKeys 829: 131-160 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Woolrich-Piña GA 2018. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, with comparisons with adjoining states. ZooKeys 753: 83-106 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal, Julio A. and James R. Dixon 2013. Amphibians and Reptiles of San Luis Potosí. Eagle Mountain Publishing, xii + 300 pp.
  • Lemos-Espinal, Julio A., Geoffrey R. Smith 2015. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Check List 11 (3): 1642 - get paper here
  • Leyte-Manrique A, Mata-Silva V, Báez-Montes O, Fucsko LA, DeSantis DL, García-Padilla E, Rocha A, Johnson JD, Porras LW, Wilson LD. 2022. The herpetofauna of Guanajuato, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 16(2) [General Section: 133–180 (e321) - get paper here
  • Leyte-Manrique, Adrian; Abel Antonio Buelna-Chontal,<br>Miguel Alejandro Torres-Dıaz, Christian Berriozabal-Islas, and Carlos Alberto Maciel-Mata 2019. A Comparison of Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Between Disturbed and Undisturbed Environments of Salvatierra, Guanajuato, Mexico. Tropical Conservation Science 12: 1–12 - get paper here
  • Leyte-Manrique, Adrian; Christian Berriozabal-Islas, Vicente Mata-Silva, and Juan Pablo Morales-Castorena 2018. Herpetofaunal diversity in Área Natural Protegida Las Musas, Guanajuato, Mexico. Mesoamerican Herpetology 5 (1): 122–136 - get paper here
  • Leyte-Manrique, Adrian; Efrén M. Hernández Navarro y Luis A. Escobedo-Morales 2015. Herpetofauna de Guanajuato: Un análisis histórico y contemporáneo de su conocimiento. Revista Mexicana de Herpetología 1(1): 1–14
  • Loc-Barragán JA, Smith GR, Woolrich-Piña GA, Lemos-Espinal JA 2024. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nayarit, Mexico with conservation status and comparison with adjoining States. Herpetozoa 37: 25-42 - get paper here
  • Manjarrez, Javier and Emma San-Roman-Apolonio 2015. Timing of Birth and Body Condition in Neonates of Two Gartersnake Species from Central México. Herpetologica Mar 2015, Vol. 71, No. 1: 12-18. - get paper here
  • Manjarrez, Javier; Constantino Macías García, and Hugh Drummond 2013. Variation in the Diet of the Mexican Black-bellied Gartersnake Thamnophis melanogaster: Importance of Prey Availability and Snake Body Size. Journal of Herpetology Sep 2013, Vol. 47, No. 3: 413-420. - get paper here
  • McCranie, J.R. & Wilson, L.D. 2001. The herpetofauna of the Mexican State of Aguascalientes. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 230: 1-57
  • Müller, Johann Wilhelm 1865. Reisen in den Vereinigten Staaten, Canada und Mexiko. III. Beiträge zur Geschichte, Statistik und Zoologie von Mexiko. Dritte Abtheilung. Die Wirbeltiere Mexikos. III. Amphibia [Amphibia by Hugo Troschel, pp. 595-620]. Leipzig, Brockhaus. xiv + 643 pp. - get paper here
  • Mutschmann, Frank 1995. Die Strumpfbandnattern. WESTARP WISSENSCHAFTEN - Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Bd.620, 172 pp.
  • 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 [1864]: 381-399 - get paper here
  • Peterson, H. William;Smith, Hobart M.;Chizsar, David 1995. Some noteworthy amphibians and reptiles from the region of Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 30 (5): 90-91 - get paper here
  • Queiroz, Alan de; Robin Lawson and Julio A. Lemos-Espinal 2002. Phylogenetic Relationships of North American Garter Snakes (Thamnophis) Based on Four Mitochondrial Genes: How Much DNA Sequence Is Enough? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22: 315-329 - get paper here
  • Rorabaugh, J C; Turner, D; van Devender, T R; Hugo-Cabrera, V; Maynard, R J; Van Devender, R W; Villa, R A; Hamilton, P; Hale, S F; Aguilar-Morales, C; Blanco-Gutiérrez, A; Wallace, E & Hedgcock, C; 2019. Herpetofauna of the Mesa Tres Ríos area in the Northern Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora, Mexico. Herpetological Review 50 (2): 251-259 - get paper here
  • Rossman, Douglas A.; Ford, Neil B. & Seigel, Richard A. 1996. The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, xx + 332 + pp.
  • Roth-Monzón AJ, Mendoza-Hernández AA, Flores-Villela O. 2018. Amphibian and reptile biodiversity in the semi-arid region of the municipality of Nopala de Villagrán, Hidalgo, Mexico. PeerJ 6: e4202 - get paper here
  • Schaeffel, F. & A. De Queiroz 1990. Alternative Mechanisms of Enhanced Underwater Vision in the Garter Snakes Thamnophis melanogaster and T. couchii Copeia 1990 (1): 50-58. - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M. 1942. The synonymy of the garter snakes (Thamnophis), with notes on Mexican and Central American species. Zoologica, Scientific Contributions of the New York Zoological Society 27 (3 and 4): 97-123 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M. 1943. Summary of the collections of snakes and crocodilians made in Mexico under the Walter Rathbone Bacon Traveling Scholarship. Proceeding of the U. S. National Museum, 93 (3169): 393-504 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M. and David Chiszar. 2001. The nomen protectum rule of the 1999 Code and name for the garter snake Thamnophis melanogaster (Peters). Herpetological Review 32 (3):160-161 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M.; Nixon, C. William; Smith, Philip W. 1950. Mexican and Central American garter snakes (Thamnophis) in the British Museum (Natural History). Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 41 (282): 571-584 - get paper here
  • Tanner, Wilmer W. 1959. A new Thamnophis from western Chihuahua with notes on four other species. Herpetologica 15 (4): 165-172 - get paper here
  • Tanner, Wilmer W. 1985. Snakes of Western Chihuahua. Great Basin Naturalist 45 (4): 615-676 - get paper here
  • Tepos-Ramírez M, Garduño-Fonseca FS, Peralta-Robles CA, García-Rubio OR, Cervantes Jiménez R 2023. Annotated checklist of amphibians and reptiles from Querétaro, Mexico, including new records, and comments on controversial species. Check List 19(2): 269-292 - get paper here
  • Valdez-Lares, R.; R. Muñiz-Martínez; E.Gadsden; G. Aguirre-León; G. Castañeda-Gaytán; R. Gonzalez-Trápaga 2013. Checklist of amphibians and reptiles of the state of Durango, México. Check List 9 (4):714-724 - get paper here
  • Vázquez Díaz, Joel;Quintero Díaz, Gustavo E. 2005. Anfibios y Reptiles de Aguascalientes [2nd ed.]. CONABIO, CIEMA, 318 pp.
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Webb, R.G. 1984. Herpetogeography in the Mazatlán-Durango Region of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. Vetrebrate Ecology and Systematics - A ribute to Henry S. Fitch; Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, pp. 217-241
  • 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
  • Woolrich-Piña, Guillermo A, Paulino Ponce-Campos, Jesús Loc-Barragán, Juan Pablo Ramírez-Silva, Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson, Elí García-Padilla and Larry David Wilson. 2016. The herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (2): 376-448 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Thamnophis&species=melanogaster

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator