Sierra garter snake

Sierra garter snake
Thamnophis couchii being handled by a naturalist on the banks of the Middle Tuolumne River in the Sierra Nevada.
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Thamnophis
Species:	T. couchii
Binomial name
Thamnophis couchii (Kennicott, 1859)
Thamnophis couchii range map, from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Synonyms [2]
Eutaenia couchii Kennicott, 1859 Thamnophis ordinoides couchii — Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921 Thamnophis couchii — Fitch, 1984

Thamnophis couchii, commonly known as Couch's garter snake, the Sierra garter snake, or the western aquatic garter snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the western United States.

Etymology

The specific name couchii is in honor of Darius Nash Couch, who was a U.S. Army officer and a naturalist. ^[3]

Geographic range

T. couchii is native to California and Oregon in the United States. ^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of T. couchii are freshwater wetlands and permanent or temporary bodies of water in grassland, shrubland, and forest. ^[1]

Behavior

T. couchii is highly aquatic. ^[1]

Reproduction

T. couchii is viviparous. ^[2]

References

1. Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Thamnophis couchii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007 e.T63974A12732544. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63974A12732544.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.{{cite iucn}}: uses deprecated |page= identifier (help)
2. Species Thamnophis couchii at The Reptile Database
3. 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 couchii, p. 60).

Further reading

• Behler, John L.; King, F. Wayne (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 color plates. ISBN   0-394-50824-6. (Thamnophis couchi, pp. 664–666).
• Kennicott, Robert (1859). "Eutaenia couchii ". pp. 10–11. In: Baird SF (1859). "No. 4. Report on the Reptiles Collected on the Survey". pp. 9-13 + Plates XI, XXVIII, XXX, XLIV. In: Williamson RS, Abbot HL (1859). ("1855"). Report upon Explorations for a Railroad Route from the Sacramento Valley to the Columbia River. Part IV. Zoological Report. Washington, District of Columbia: United States War Department. (Eutaenia couchii, new species).
• Smith, Hobart M.; Brodie, Edmund D. 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, pp. 150–151).
• Stebbins, Robert C. (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series ®. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin. xiii + 533 pp., 56 color plates, 204 maps. (Thamnophis couchii, p. 381-382, Figure 27 + Plate 49 + Map 167).