Posted by:
tbrock
at Fri Oct 19 20:01:46 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tbrock ]
This argument seems beneath you, KJ, and I'm really surprised. I, like Terry, am not an academic but I mean come on! Made-up common name? Aren't they all 'made-up'? Can't there be more than one common name? Red rat snake = corn snake, Emory's rat = Great plains rat. Dixon and Werler call them southwestern rat snakes in their field guide, but this is the only reference I've seen calling them this. I call them thornscrubs, southern plains and southwestern rats alternately, depending on my mood, or the audience. Most of my fellow herpers in my county know them as southern plains or southern 'great' plains rats. Also, lots of other Texas field herpers call them thornscrub rats. Who better to determine what the 'common name' should be? The name southwestern rat snake could apply to Elaphe (Pantherophis) bairdi, Elaphe (Bogertophis) subocularis and Elaphe (Senticolis) triaspis intermedia, since they are all from the southwestern US. In the part of South Texas where meahllmorum occurs, the only other blotched rat snake is the Texas rat snake, and it is easily distinguished from meahllmorum (and only occurs in a small portion of its range). The same way that meahllmorum may be found in habitats other than scrubland in Mexico, Texas rats are found in places other than Texas, like Louisiana.
-Toby Brock
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RE: Bogus name - tbrock, Fri Oct 19 20:01:46 2007