Posted by:
Sunherp
at Mon Dec 28 09:19:00 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Sunherp ]
Scott Ballard could provide more information, and perhaps he'll chime in. What follows is my understanding of the information he's relayed to me:
Most of the L. t. gaigeae your apt to see in captivity are Florida Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, or "Bell"-line animals. These are all the same line in actuality, and are the result of several collecting expeditions by the San Antonio Zoo to Limon Province, Costa Rica. The original founding animals were though to be Mussurana (Clelia clelia) by the expedition, but when one of the adults was found to be gravid and laid eggs from which neonate milk snakes hatched, their true identity was revealed. This revelation led to at least one more collecting expedition by Kardon and his crew to Limon Province. Though the expeditions were staged in Puerto Limon, it is a coastal city and probably too low in elevation for gaigeae. The animals were likely collected further from the coast in the highlands of Limon Province.
There are also at least two other locality lines of gaigeae in the country. Shannon Brown is working with one, and Jeff Hardwick and Dell Despain.
Hope that helps
-Cole
L. t. gentilis - Central Kansas
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Ameron - Sunherp, Mon Dec 28 09:19:00 2009