Common garter snake

The subspecific name fitchi is in honor of the American herpetologist Henry Sheldon Fitch. The subspecific name pickeringii is in honor of the American naturalist Charles E. Pickering. Subspecies Current scientific classification recognizes 12 subspecies (ordered by date): A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Thamnophis. ==Anatomy and description==

Common garter snakes are thin snakes. Few grow over about long, and most stay smaller. Most have longitudinal stripes in many different colors. Common garter snakes come in a wide range of colors, including green, blue, yellow, gold, red, orange, brown, and black. Venom Garter snakes have a mild venom in their saliva, which may be toxic to the amphibians and other small animals that they prey upon. For humans, a bite is not dangerous, and many handlers can attest to garter snakes gently biting in protest when held or restrained; these bites do not often break the skin, given the garter snake's smaller size, but may cause slight itching, burning, and/or swelling at the location of the bite. However, it is more likely that, prior to expending their energy through biting, garter snakes will secrete a foul-smelling fluid ("musk", "musking", "skunking") from postanal glands. Common garter snakes are resistant to naturally occurring poisons in their prey, such as that of the American toad and rough-skinned newt, the latter of which can kill a human if ingested. Garter snakes (in addition to their own mildly venomous saliva) have the ability to retain poisons from their consumed amphibian prey, thus making them poisonous and deterring any would-be predators. The antipredator display that this species uses demonstrates the idea of an "arms race" between different species and their antipredator displays. ==Habitat==

The habitat of the common garter snake ranges from forests, fields, and prairies to streams, wetlands, meadows, marshes, and ponds, and it is often found near water. Depending on the subspecies, the common garter snake can be found as far south the southernmost tip of Florida in the United States and as far north as the southernmost tip of the Northwest Territories in Canada. It is found at altitudes from sea level to mountains. ==Behavior and life history==

The common garter snake is a diurnal snake. In summer, it is most active in the morning and late afternoon; in cooler seasons or climates, it restricts its activity to the warm afternoons. In warmer southern areas, the snake is active year-round; otherwise, it sleeps in common dens, sometimes in great numbers. On warm winter afternoons, some snakes have been observed emerging from their hibernacula to bask in the sun. Antipredatory displays Garter snakes exhibit many different behaviors to ward off predators. Garter snakes exhibit a greater variety of body postures than other snakes. Under selection by predation, these snakes have developed postural responses that are highly variable and heritable. These are highly variable even within a single population. After such a male has led rivals away, he "turns" back into a male and races back to the den, just as the females emerge. He is then the first to mate with all the females he can catch. This method also serves to help warm males by tricking other males into surrounding and heating up the male, and is particularly useful to subspecies in colder climates (such as those inhabited by T. s. parietalis); this type of mimicry is primarily found in that subspecies. These deceptive males have been found to mate with females significantly more often than males that do not exhibit this mimicry. ==Ecology==

, in Minnesota Hunting and diet The diet of T. sirtalis consists mainly of amphibians and earthworms, but also leeches, slugs, snails, insects, crayfish, fish, lizards, other snakes, small birds, and rodents. Common garter snakes are effective at catching fast-moving creatures such as fish and tadpoles. Natural predators Animals that prey on the common garter snake include large fish (such as bass and catfish), American bullfrogs, common snapping turtles, larger snakes, hawks, raccoons, foxes, wild turkeys, and domestic cats and dogs. ==Conservation status==

The common garter snake is considered to be a least-concern species by the IUCN Red List due to its wide distribution and high population size. Water contamination, urban expansion, and residential and industrial development are all threats to the common garter snake. The San Francisco garter snake (T. s. tetrataenia), which is extremely scarce and occurs only in the vicinity of ponds and reservoirs in San Mateo County, California, has been listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1967. File:Eastern Garter Snake.jpg|T. s. sirtalis (Ontario specimen) File:Couleuvres-rayees-magog-quebec.jpg|T. s. sirtalis (Quebec, Canada) File:Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis Florida specimen.JPG|T. s. sirtalis (Florida specimen) ==See also==