Posted by:
ratsnakehaven
at Sat Mar 25 06:00:46 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by ratsnakehaven ]
Shane, I remember your post from last summer. You were on the island of Kyushu, as I recall. My memory isn't the greatest these days, so I have to work at it. That is in the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Those were some very nice photos you put up.
I believe there's a general difference between the southern part of conspicillatus' range and the northern part. Here's a topo map (section) from the southern part of the big island of Honshu. It's from an area around 35 degrees north, similar to North Carolina....
The elevations aren't that great here, with most of them being less than 1000 meters. The interior has the highest elevations, and generally they are less as you near the coast. Coastal elevations, under 500 meters, aren't very numerous though, so there's not that much low elevation territory for the snakes. It looks like a large part of the area is bt. 500 and 1000 m, and that the ratsnakes must be occupying hilly and low to medium elevations. The three ratsnake species are likely occuring sympatrically in these areas.
I understand better now the point you were making. Most of my experience has been with conspics from the northern half of Honshu, where elevations are higher, as well as latitude. I look forward to finding out more about how the three ratsnakes live in the southern half of their ranges. I remember that a long time ago, folks used to say there were two species, Elaphe conspicillata and E. japonica. E. japonica was from the northern half of their range, middle of Honshu north.
Anyway, it's very possible that conspicillatus is living at altitudes from about 500 to 1500 m in the southern half of their range, maybe even lower, and the southern form could have different behaviors as a result. I would say we need to look at the origin of the snake in relation to their captive maintenance then.
Thanks for your interest in this thread, Shane, and I look forward to any new info you bring back from Japan. Wish I could join you someday... 
Terry
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RE: Situla, davidi, and conspicillatus.... - ratsnakehaven, Sat Mar 25 06:00:46 2006