Two-striped garter snake

The two-striped garter snake (Thamnophis hammondii) is a species of aquatic snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to western North America.

Two-striped garter snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Thamnophis
Species:	T. hammondii
Binomial name
Thamnophis hammondii (Kennicott, 1860)
Synonyms[2]
Eutaenia hammondii Kennicott, 1860 Tropidonotus digueti Mocquard, 1899 Thamnophis hammondii — Stebbins, 1985

Two-striped garter snake in Riverside County, California

Taxonomy and etymology

The specific name hammondii is in honor of William A. Hammond, the U.S. Army surgeon who collected the first specimens.^[3][4]

Description

T. hammondii is a medium-sized snake, 18–30 in (46–76 cm) in total length (including tail), with a head barely wider than the neck. Two common color variations occur in the wild, a striped variant and a checkered variant. The striped variant has a yellowish lateral stripe on each side, and a fairly uniform dorsal coloring. The checkered variant lacks the lateral stripes and has two rows of small dark spots on each side.^[5]

Geographic range, habitat, and diet

The two-striped garter snake is found in western North America, ranging from central California to Baja California, Mexico. It is a highly aquatic species, and prefers habitat adjacent to permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water. This species feeds primarily on fishes and amphibians.^[6]

Reproduction

T. hammondii is ovoviviparous.^[2]

References

1. Frost, D.R.; Hammerson, G.A.; Hollingsworth, B. (2007). "Thamnophis hammondii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T21707A9311793. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T21707A9311793.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
2. Species Thamnophis hammondii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Hume, Edgar Erskine (1942). "Hammond and Xantus de Vesey were not the only 'surgeons-ornithologists'". Ornithologists of the United States Army Medical Corps: Thirty-six biographies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 583 pp. ISBN 978-0405107290.
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Thamnophis hammondi, p. 115).
5. "Two-striped Gartersnake - Thamnophis hammondii ". www.californiaherps.com. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
6. Kucera T (2000). "Thamnophis hammondii ". California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved 24 August 2015.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Tropidonotus ordinatus Var. hammondi, p. 210).
• Kennicott R (1860). "Descriptions of New Species of North American Serpents in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 12: 328–338. (Eutænia hammondii, new species, p. 332).
• Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (Thamnophis hammondii, p. 249 + Plate 28).
• Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback), ISBN 0-307-47009-1 (hardcover). (Thamnophis couchi hammondi, p. 150).
• Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Thamnophis hammondii, pp. 385–386 + Figure 27 on p. 383 + Plate 49 + Map 167).
• Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Thamnophis hammondi, p. 101).
• Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in two volumes). (Thamnophis elegans hammondi, pp. 788–791, Figure 226 + Map 58 on p. 763).