Mountain Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans elegans)

Created: February 8th, 2015 - 04:16 PM
Last Modified: February 8th, 2015 - 04:53 PM Entered by: Alan St. John
Record 215405

Country: United States		State: Oregon	County: Yamhill County	Time: 1999-10-05 15:00:00
Qty: 1	Age: Adult	Sex: --	Method: Visual encounter	Habitat: Transition from oak savanna foothills to mountain coniferous forest.
Body Temperature: -----		Air Temperature: 70.00F	Ground Temperature: -----	Humidity: -----
Sky Conditions: Clear		Moon Phase: -----	Elevation: 800.00ft	Barometric Pressure: -----

Notes

Captured in the upper North Yamhill River drainage, this is an example of the unique Willamette Valley variation----a zig-zag white dorsal stripe (often broken into discontinuous spots and diamond-shapes) on a soot-black ground color, no lateral stripes, and a bluish-gray venter coloration that somewhat extends upward onto the sides of the snake's body. Also, unlike the more terrestrial T. e. elegans of SW Oregon and northern California, the Willamette populations are very aquatic, usually being found along flowing streams.

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Comments

Posted by Jonathan Hakim on May 16, 2015 at 10:38 AM

Fantastic record and a beautiful snake.