Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a few requests to post more photos of this guy back in April...with work and other responsibilities, took me until today to take new photos.

This guy was found just outside of the range of temporalis. Lots of white on the belly...thought he was a scarlet snake at first glance.

Thanks for looking,
Michael

snake...where did you find it?

Tree, ground, etc.

-Rusty

Thanks Rusty,
I don't want to give away too much on a public forum, but let's just say that at certain times or the year, in certain weather conditions, they can be found above ground under cover...otherwise, they are very secretive, spending most of their time underground and found mostly crossing roads after dark...My experience (which is limited to North Carolina) is also that sk's are very specific to their habitat preference. Although range maps make it look like they are found statewide, they have disappeared from most of the piedmont and even a good deal of the coastal plain due to deforestation.

I'm attaching a habitat shot from this spring when this snake was found for reference.

Michael

I live in Central Florida...and the habitat shot looks very similar to where I found my second ever S.K.

Thanks again!

-Rusty

Thanks for the follow up Michael... very nice scarlet! Glad to see him doing well for you....

Chris

Thanks Chris. Did you get those moles from Mike P? If so, post some recent photos. I'd like to see them.

Michael

>>This guy was found just outside of the range of temporalis. Lots of white on the belly...thought he was a scarlet snake at first glance.

What county? Here is one I found in Hyde County about six years ago, on 264 between Scranton and Rose Bay.

Wow!,Dwight......with all the light grayish background coloration, it certainly seems to have some temporalis influence. That "Hyde County" area otherwise would be strictly elapsoides territory, especially being more isolated to the coastal area........very unique looking!, I like it!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

>>it certainly seems to have some temporalis influence. That "Hyde County" area otherwise would be strictly elapsoides territory, especially being more isolated to the coastal area..

Thanks for the compliments Doug. I came very close to wrecking my truck trying to stop for this snake.

I don't think Hyde is considered "strictly elapsoides territory" though. The area north of Pamlico Sound is generally considered an intergrade zone for triangulum and elapsoides but I guess that depends on what you think a temporalis really is, lol. Palmer and Braswell called them intergrades in the hardcover Reptiles of North Carolina and there is a range map on page 192.

Here are more pics of the same snake:

Head shot:

Belly shot:

Just for kicks, here are some other photos from that trip:

Tyrrell County habitat:

Thanks for looking,
dg

Dwight,.....sorry for the miscommunication there,..when I said "otherwise elapsoides territory", I basically meant other than the known population of temporalis there and in the above neighboring Tyrrell County, etc...

Some of my range maps have triangulum being a good bit north of there, but these friggin maps can be VERY vague and generalised at best.

From what I understood, Eastern Milks were only found in the mountain areas of N.C., and from Viginia and above very common.

Do you know for sure of any triangulum that were captured in the extreme eastern portion?

best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

>> Do you know for sure of any triangulum that were captured in the extreme eastern portion?

Nope, not that I am aware of... only the "temporalis" type specimens. I'l dust off the Palmer and Braswell book and see what records are mentioned.

dg

Dwight,
Thanks for posting the photos above. I haven't been to Hyde or Tyrell yet, but the habitat looks a lot less herper friendly than other places I've herped in NC.
Your snake shows more white on the belly and more red on the head than mine, althought mine has more of both of these traits than the typical elapsoides I have seen. The interesting thing that the Palmer and Braswell book notes is that 75% of specimens caught above the Pamlico Sound had blotches instead of complete bands (trait that differentiates "temporalis" from elapsoides). There was also a smaller percentage found below the Pamlico Sound, as well as some records from the sandhills, that had blotches instead of complete bands.
My snake was found in Carteret County. Just across the Pamlico Sound.

Thanks,
Michael