Posted by:
regalringneck
at Sun Sep 19 14:12:21 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by regalringneck ]
Wonderful 
I've got several DoR's in the freezer. When you're ready we'll have to figure out how to legally export the heads or whole carcasses to you. Im sure I can get one of the prof's @ ASU to serve as the point of origination.
Meanwhile if you havent already seen this paper ...perhaps it might serve to furthur whet your curiosity...
THE RINGNECK SNAKE (DIADOPHIS PUNCTATUS OCCIDENTALIS) - A VENOMOUS COLUBRID? Ryan P. O'Donnell, Kevin Staniland, and Robert T. Mason, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
Ringneck snakes (Diadophis punctatus) have been anecdotally reported to be venomous. Previous studies describe extracts from the Duvernoy’s gland as containing phosphodiesterase and phospholipase activity, which are characteristic of many viperid and elapid venoms. Here we report the first dose-response curve for lethality of ringneck snake saliva. We intraperitoneally injected ringneck snake saliva (2-35µL) into 41 neonatal Northwestern garter snakes (Thamnophis ordinoides). The dose significantly affected the time-to-death. We also established that garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis and T. ordinoides) are a food item for ringneck snakes in our study area by examining the stomach contents of individuals captured in the field in Benton County, Oregon. Garter snakes extracted from ringneck snake stomachs may have been larger than the ringneck snakes that ingested them. We suggest that ringneck snake venom may have evolved to subdue larger prey items than the snake would otherwise be capable of handling.
Journal Information: Name: Northwestern Naturalist Frequency: Triannually ISSN: 1051-1733 Description: The Northwestern Naturalist is the official journal of the Society. Electronic URL: http://www.snwvb.org Contact: Julie Grialou Email: jgrialou@parametrix.com Phone: (425) 822-8880 ext.3365 FAX: (425) 889-8808
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