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

Thamnophis rufipunctatus (COPE, 1875)

IUCN Red List - Thamnophis rufipunctatus - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Thamnophis rufipunctatus?

Add your own observation of
Thamnophis rufipunctatus »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Narrowhead Garter Snake, Narrowhead Watersnake
G: Schmalköpfige Strumpfbandnatter, Rotpunkt-Strumpfbandnatter 
SynonymChilopoma rufipunctatum COPE 1875: 544
Atomarchus multimaculatus COPE 1883
Tropidonotus rufipunctatus — GARMAN 1884: 23
Eutaenia multimaculata — COPE 1886: 284
Eutaenia multimaculata — COPE 1900: 1087
Eutaenia rufopunctata — COPE 1900: 1089 [sic]
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — CONANT 1963: 480
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — STEBBINS 1985: 199
Thamnophis rufipunctatus rufipunctatus — TANNER 1985: 646
Nerodia rufipunctatus — CHIASSON & LOWE 1989
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — TANNER 1990
Nerodia rufipunctatus — LINER 1994
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — ROSSMAN et al. 1996: 241
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — WOOD et al. 2011
Thamnophis rufipunctatus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 725

Eutaenia angustirostris KENNICOTT 1860: 332 (see comment)
Eutaenia angustirostris — COPE 1900: 1047
Thamnophis angustirostris — SMITH & TAYLOR 1945
Natrix angustirostris — LOWE 1955
Thamnophis angustirostris — SMITH & SMITH 1976
Thamnophis angustirostris — LEMOS-ESPINAL 2015 
DistributionUSA (CE Arizona, CW New Mexico)

Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Durango)

Type locality: S Arizona

angustirostris: Mexico (Coahuila); type locality: Parras, Coahuila.  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 8600
Lectotype: USNM 959 [angustirostris] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A moderate- to large-sized subspecies usually with 21-21-17 scale rows, head elongate and compressed laterally; 1 loreal, 2 preoculars, usually 3 postoculars with the inferior one being narrowly separated from or barely contacting the 4th supralabial in 75% of the specimens; 2 or occasionally only 1 supralabial entering orbit; ventrals 156 to 179, caudal 67-88, ventral-caudals average 239 (female), 254 (male) ; (Table 2); ground color brown to olive brown, with 6 rows of dark brown or rust colored spots. (Tanner 1985)


Additional details (174 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecies: Thamnophis rufipunctatus nigronuchalis THOMPSON 1957 has been elevated to full species status. Thamnophis rufipunctatus unilabialis TANNER 1985 has been considered as a synonym of Thamnophis rufipunctatus (ROSSMAN et al. 1996: 39) but more recently elevated to evolutionary species (WOOD et al. 2011).

Synonymy: That status of Eutaenia (Thamnophis) angustirostris remains unclear, see Rossman, Ford & Seigel 1996. Related to Thamnophis (Nerodia) rufipunctatus and T. melanogaster. T. angustirostris is a nomen dubium fide ROSSMAN et al. 1996] and a “species inquirenda” by WALLACH et al. 2014: 828.

Distribution: T. angustirostris has been reported from Mexico (Distrito Federal, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Durango); Type locality: Parras, Coahuila. However, despite its uncertain status we do include it in the herpetofauna of Mexico, based on O. Flores-Villlea, pers. comm., 21 June 2021. Not listed in Liner 1994, 2007, nor by Heimes 2016. Enderson et al. 2009 reported T. rufipunctatus from Sonora.

Distribution: see map in Wood et al. 2011: 3838. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “rufus” = red and “punctum” = spot. 
References
  • Allen, W. L., R. Baddeley, N. E. Scott-Samuel, and I. C. Cuthill. 2013. The evolution and function of pattern diversity in snakes. Behav. Ecol. 24:1237– 1250
  • Bergamini, Rex R., Christy, Kayla, Morton, Michael and Nowak, Erika M. 2017. Geographic Distribution: Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Narrow-headed Gartersnake). Herpetological Review 48 (1): 132 - get paper here
  • Bezy, Robert L. and Charles J. Cole 2014. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Madrean Archipelago of Arizona and New Mexico. American Museum Novitates (3810): 1-24 - get paper here
  • Blais, B R & Lashway, S 2018. Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Narrow-headed Gartersnake) Shared refuge. Herpetological Review 49 (2): 357-358 - get paper here
  • Boundy, Jeff 1994. Thamnophis rufipunctatus (narrow-headed garter snake). Color and size. Herpetological Review 25 (3): 126-127 - 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
  • Chiasson,R.B. & LOWE,C.H. 1989. Ultrastructural scale pattens in Nerodia and Thamnophis. Journal of Herpetology 23 (2): 109-118 - get paper here
  • CHRISTMAN, BRUCE L.; ISAAC J. RODRIGUEZ, RANDY D. JENNINGS, JOSH A. WRIGHT & JOEL C. TECCA. 2021. THAMNOPHIS RUFIPUNCTATUS (Narrow-headed Gartersnake). DIET. Herpetological Review 52 (2): 435–436. - 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. 1875. In Yarrow, H.C., Report upon the collections of batrachians and reptiles made in portions of Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, during the years 871, 1872, 1873, and 1874, Chapter IV, L, pp. 509-584, In: Report upon geograph Government Printing office, Washington D.C. - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1886. Thirteenth contribution to the herpetology of tropical America. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 23: 271-287 [1885] - 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
  • Cotten, T.B., Love-Chezem, T.S., Westeen, E.P., Shaw, C.J. & Fadlovich, R. 2017. Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Narrow-headed Gartersnake) Habitat. Herpetological Review 48 (3): 686-687. - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • de Queiroz,K. & LAWSON,R. 1994. Phylogenetic relationships of the garter snakes based on DNA sequence and allozyme vatiation. Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 53: 209-229 - get paper here
  • Degenhardt, William G.; C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. Univ. New Mexico Press, 431 pp.
  • Emmons, I. D. & Nowak, E. M. 2012. Geographic distribution: Thamnophis rufipunctatus (narrow-headed gartersnake). Herpetological Review 43: 310 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Garman, Samuel 1884. The reptiles and batrachians of North America. Mem. Mus. comp. Zool, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 8 (3): xxxiv + 185 pp. [1883] [CNAH reprint 10] - get paper here
  • 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
  • Hallmen, M. & Grübner, D. 2006. Überblick über die Gattung Thamnophis. Draco 6 (25): 6-24 - get paper here
  • Hibbitts, Troy D. & Lee A. Fitzgerald 2005. Morphological and ecological convergence in two natricine snakes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society<br>85: 363–371 - get paper here
  • Holycross, Andrew T. and Joseph C. Mitchell (Editors) 2020. Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico (www.ecouniverse.com). xix + 835 pp. [book review in HR 52 (1): 176]
  • 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 - get paper here
  • Liner, E.A. 1994. Scientific and common names for the Amphibians and Reptiles of Mexico in English and Spanish. Herpetological Circular 23: 1-113
  • Lowe, C.H. 1955. Generic Status of the Aquatic Snake Thamnophis angustirostris. Copeia 1955 (4): 307-309 - get paper here
  • Nowak, E.M., and M.A. Santana-Bendix. 2003. Distribution, ecology, and management recommendations for the Narrow-headed Garter Snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) in Oak Creek, Arizona - part 2. Sonoran Herpetologist 16 (11):98-101. - get paper here
  • Nowak, E.M., and M.A. Santana-Bendix. 2003. Distribution, ecology, and management recommendations for the Narrow-headed Garter Snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) in Oak Creek, Arizona - part 1. Sonoran Herpetologist 16 (10):86-89. - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Painter, Charles W.;Hibbitts, Toby J. 1996. Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Narrow-headed garter snake). Maximum size. Herpetological Review 27 (3): 147 - 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
  • 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.
  • RYAN, MASON J.; WHITNEY L. HEURING, TARA SPRANKLE, ZACK STEVENS, TARA HARRIS, RUTH ALLARD, KEVIN KRAHN, EMILY HASTINGS, SHARON BIGGS, BRAD POYNTER & STUART WELLS. 2022. Herpetoculture Notes: THAMNOPHIS RUFIPUNCTATUS (Narrow-headed Gartersnake). LONGEVITY. Herpetological Review 53 (2): 255.
  • 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 2003. The checkered nomenclatural history of the Narrow-headed Garter Snake, Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Cope). Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 38 (3):46-48 - 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
  • Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
  • Tanner, W W 1990. Thamnophis rufipunctatus (Cope). Narrow-headed garter snake. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 505: 1-2 - 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
  • Thompson, Fred G. 1957. A new Mexican gartersnake (Genus Thamnophis) with notes on related forms. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (584): 1-10 - 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
  • 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.
  • Werning, Heiko 2012. Die Reptilien und Amphibien des Südwestens. Draco 13 (50): 18-60 - get paper here
  • Wood, Dustin A.; A. G. Vandergast, J . A. Lemos Espinal, R. N. Fisher & A. T. Holycross 2011. REFUGIAL ISOLATION AND DIVERGENCE IN THE NARROWHEAD GARTER SNAKE SPECIES COMPLEX (THAMNOPHIS RUFIPUNCTATUS) AS REVEALED BY MULTILOCUS DNA SEQUENCE DATA. Molecular Ecology 20: 3856–3878 - get paper here
  • Woodin, W.H., III 1950. Notes on Arizona Species of Thamnophis Herpetologica 6 (2): 39-40. - 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=rufipunctatus

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



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator