Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Serpentes Scientific name Thamnophis hammondii Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Squamata Family Colubridae Higher classification Garter snake | |
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Similar Garter snake, Snake, Reptile, Scaled reptiles, Western aquatic garter sn | ||
Two striped garter snake
The two-striped garter snake (Thamnophis hammondii) is a species of aquatic garter snake that lives in western North America.
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Taxonomy and etymology
The specific name, hammondii, is in honor of William A. Hammond, the U.S. Army surgeon, who collected the first specimens.
Description
T. hammondii is a medium-sized snake, 18-30 inches long, 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.
Range, habitat, and diet
The two-striped garter snake is found in western North America, ranging from central California to Baja California, Mexico. They are a highly aquatic species, and prefer habitat adjacent to permanent or semi-permanent bodies of water. This species feeds primarily on fish and amphibians.
