>>It is my understanding, correct me if I am wrong, that E. anomala was originally described as and considered a subspecies of schrenki and possibly sometime in the early 2000's it was elevated to its own species.
>>

Hi, Don. It's been some time since I've worked with the Schrenck's ratsnakes, but I'll try to fill in the best I can.

I don't remember, off hand, who elevated anomala to full species, but I've always looked at that as "potentially" a full species. I've not accepted it, yet, myself, and still think of schrencki and anomala as one species, and the two subspecies in it. I think we can use them either way because the proposal still has to stand the test of time.

>>I would like to know about anomala. I have enclosed some pics of both "varieties" for your interpretation. Any info would be helpful. All of the anomala pics i have seen are of the patterned variety and i am wondering if the patternless variety has even been described. If so is it considered a subspecies of anomala or simply a variant / locality?
>>

I'm not sure. By "patternless", do you mean the melanistic form, or any unicolored form? I remember the melanistic snakes you posted a couple years ago. I wouldn't think of it as a subspecies. No island subspecies have been described, as far as I know. A melanistic phase, or any color phase, such as brown or yellow, would just be a color variant in most cases, and could be confined to just one locality, such as one of the islands.

>>I also am adding pics to the thread of a schrenki that i found on an island off of the western coast. I had hoped to return to this island to try to determine if this coloration was recurring on this island. One possibility that I considered is that there may be a population of this form that has evolved the hyper melanism as a result of the lower temps/winds that occur on the island as a means to more rapidly raise their body temps. Of course this will require my return to the island which I hope to do this year. I did visit a neighboring island this past summer and in 2 days I was able to locate 5 baby schrenki, all with normal neonate coloring/markings. I was unable to locate any adult specimens.
>>

I like studying island populations. There's always a chance snakes could have been isolated for a long time and have some genetic variation. It would be interesting to note whether all the anomala on your island are the melanistic form or just a percentage. It could be the babies look normal and change to the melanistic phase as adults. You could also check to see if they average a different size from mainland populations, or if there are any other differences which might even lead you to describe a new subspecies.

>>I guess my last item that i would like to discuss is the albino korean rats that i have seen for sale in the US. Does anyone know the history of where these originated from and wether they are actually schrenki or anomala I have never seen them listed with their latin handle, only as korean rats). I have only seen pics of babies. I also know that because even a normal colored schrenki sells on the black market here (for medicinal purposes) for more than they are getting for albino babies, that chance of them actually being of korean origin are unlikely. Any insight would be appreciated.
>>

Several breeders have had the albino Koreans, so they're being bred here. I don't think they are very common, however. I know Thomas Harrison posted some pictures a year or two ago. I believe the albinos are of the anomala subspecies, although I'm not totally positive on that. I remember discussing the term "Korean ratsnake", because they don't just occur in Korea, and other names might be more suitable. Not much came of that because so few of these were sold or discussed.

Thanks for the pics, Don. Interesting stuff, and hope to hear more from your next year and your adventures with these snakes.

Terry

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