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11pt">John =20
On 5/1/2011 12:22 PM, Brian Bartlett wrote:
> John, Unfortunately I didn't know to look for the three yellow spots --
> maybe one of those cases of not seeing what you're not looking for. My
> guess is that in the shade at the trail's side yellow spots may have not
> been terribly distinct from the orange.
* if you had a copper-coloured Redbbelly, the occipital spots (the
"occipitomaculata" in the species name) would not have been at all
conspicuous. There is variation in the brightness of the red belly, and
even more variation in the dorsal colour, which ranges from black to
ashy to brown to a bright orangey brown; what's traditionally called in
eastern Ontario the "deadly copper snake," on the widely endorsed
principle that any unfamiliar-looking snake must be poisonous.
fred schueler
====================================================
Certainly they're not that
> obvious in the photos I referred to -- they would stand out more in a
> darker variation. As I mentioned, process of elimination encourages me
> to think it was a Red-bellied -- don't see how it could be any of the
> other few Nova Scotian snakes.
>
> *From:* John and Nhung <mailto:nhungjohn@eastlink.ca>
> *Sent:* Sunday, May 01, 2011 12:15 PM
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca <mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
> *Subject:* RE: [NatureNS] Snake in Timberlea
>
> Did the snake have three yellowish spots around the neck? That’s
> diagnostic for a red-belly. They are very common, but secretive, and are
> our smallest snake species. Seems to me, as well, there’s usually silver
> and black speckling on either side of the belly, but am not sure if that
> is always present.
>
> Also, if you pick one up, they tend to smear you with a characteristic
> stench, similar to eau de garter snake but worse!
>
> John S.
>
> *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
> [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] *On Behalf Of *Brian Bartlett
> *Sent:* May-01-11 11:44 AM
> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> *Subject:* [NatureNS] Snake in Timberlea
>
> Yesterday in Timberlea, Halifax County, on the BLT trail near the
> beginning of the Bluff Wilderness Trail, I saw what was for me a
> puzzling snake -- about 10-12 inches long, thinner than an adult Garter
> S and not striped. I gently turned part of the snake over with one stem
> of my sunglasses and saw little colour difference between the top and
> the belly -- a dull orange. At home I checked 3 books & 3 on-line
> sources. Peterson Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians (3rd ed.) says that the
> Redbelly (Red-bellied) Snake is "subject to great variations," and that
> "the belly colour, normally bright red, may vary through orange to pale
> yellow" -- so I'm guessing, also with process of elimination and the
> resemblance of what I saw to the Redbelly in the photos on p. 309 in
> Peterson and the photos (but not the illustrations) on the NS Museum
> website, that this must've been a Redbelly. Those I've seen before had
> genuine red bellies. (Wouldn't you know it, this was one day I hadn't
> taken my camera.) If any herpitology buffs have other ideas, I'd
> appreciate hearing.
>
> Brian Bartlett, Halifax
>
--
fred schueler
------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
now in the field on the Thirty Years Later Expedition -
http://fragileinheritance.org/projects/thirty/thirtyintro.htm
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
(613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
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