Permission has been obtained in advance from kingsnake.com staff to post this educational research request.
Part I of III: As part of my Ph.D. work, I am doing morphometric and DNA (mitochondrial and nuclear) work on Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides (Scarlet Kingsnake). The purpose of this work is two-fold:
1. Determine whether elapsoides is truly part of the L. triangulum mess.
2. Look at whether elapsoides is a coral snake mimic throughout its range (which goes hundreds of kilometers outside the range of Micrurus fulvius) or whether the ringed pattern is there for some other reason (crypsis, species recognition, mate choice, etc…).
I am seeking help obtaining samples. I already have about 150 samples for the DNA work, but I could use more and especially need samples from certain areas listed below. I have already examined over 200 snakes from various museums for the morphometrics work. Again, I could use more samples for that part of the analysis.
I need to know county and state of origin for both DNA and morphometrics samples. I also need to know that any snakes collected for this project are collected legally and may need copies of collecting permits.
For the DNA work I need one of the following types of tissue:
- Shed skin
- Frozen tissue
- Alcohol-preserved tissue
- Bone
Samples for DNA work are especially needed from the following areas:
- Georgia, aside from Liberty and Bryan counties
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- South Carolina Piedmont, Mountains or Sandhills
- North Carolina Piedmont
I have some samples from all of these places, but need to up my sample sizes to really have confidence about what I am seeing in any given area.
For the Morphometrics work I need digital photos of the following:
- Dorsal surface
- Ventral surface
- Close-up of top of head
- A size standard in each photo if possible (small ruler, quarter, etc…)
Please email me for shipping details and/or instructions. I can also pick up samples in NC, SC, VA and other states not too far from NC.
Timeframe for these samples: The sooner the better is best for me, but I would like to have all the samples that are going into this analysis in hand by the end of June. Thanks for any and all help with this project.
George R. Harper
Dept. of Biology
CB#3280, Coker Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280
(919) 962-3595 (Lab)
(919) 962-1625 (Fax)
(919) 302-5838 (Cell)
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