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*Anerythristic* Plains Garter Snake
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Posted by northernIL (My Page) on Sun, Jul 17, 05 at 3:45
| I posted pics of a "Melanistic" Eastern Plains Garter Snake the other day, and it turns out that the color morph is actually Anerythristic. Here are some more pics of the snake.
Thamnophis radix radix
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: *Anerythristic* Plains Garter Snake
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RE: *Anerythristic* Plains Garter Snake
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| I'd still call this beauty a melanistic, because an anerythristic snake is simply lacking in reddish pigments. The other pigments normally associated with the species, such as yellow(xanthin)and white(leucin), as well as blue-green(cyanin), would still be present, along with the black(melanin). I know that Plains Garters don't normally have a lot of red on them anyway; most are patterned in black and gold, and the yellow pigment in reptiles is inherited separately from the red. There's a breeder in North Carolina who specializes in captive-bred "morphs" of various Garter species, and the aneries he had at a reptile show were mainly black, white, bright lemon yellow and silver snakes, but still had a clearly-visable typical Garter striped pattern. The white was where the brightest red was supposed to have been, and the silver was where it was more tan. The irises were pale yellow; normal would have been orange, but with the red pigment not present, they turned out yellow. This snake in the photos has jet-black eyes like the Racers we have here. That is by far the blackest Garter I've ever seen, and at first glance, I would have thought it WAS a Black Racer, until I noticed the keeled scales, if I had not be told it was a Garter! Sharon McKenzie |
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