Reptile & Amphibian Forums

before an introduced species can be qualified as being now native to the region? Once it has established itself and cannot be removed? For how many hundreds of years? Thanks for any input.
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1.0 Normal Corn Snake
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 BCI
0.1 California King

I think there must be a large number or individuals that are breeding in the wild to be considered a exotic species. Other than that I don't know if there is an actual period of time for species to wait to be recognized.
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Current Collection:
0.1 Antherystic elaphe guttata guttata - Corn Snake
1.0 Elaphe vulpina gloydi - Eastern Fox Snake
0.1 Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta - Black Rat Snake
0.1 Leucistic elaphe obsoleta linheimeri - Texas Ratsnake
1.1 Morelia spilotac cheyni - Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Tiliqua scincoides intermedia - Northern Blue Tongue Skink

The answer is that there is no real time where introduced species are considered native. If they were introduced by man, they are always introduced.

We still consider species such as wild horses (wild mustangs) to be introduced (feral) animals, even though they were brought across to North America by the Spanish in the original European settlement of North America, over 400 years ago. The same is true of feral pigs.

With birds, there are lots of examples of introduced species that freely breed in this country - House Sparrows, European Starlings, Rock Pigeons (=city pigeons).

The dingos of Australia are another example. They were introduced to Australia many hundreds (thousands?) of years ago by man and now represent a "species" of feral dog found nowhere else, but they are still regarded by most as an introduced species, not a native species.

By comparison, there is another species, the Cattle Egret, that clearly introduced itself to North America after colonizing the new world without the help of man. They are not considered introduced since they got here "naturally" without the intervention of humans.

So it seems (quite rightly) that an introduced animal is always an introduced animal.
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Chris Harrison

I agree with the previous response. An introduced species is never really considered native or indigenous. I have often seen the word "established" to refer to an introduced population that is reproducing, self perpetuating, and otherwise interacting with the host bio community.

Randy

Would the new animal then be considered native?
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1.0 Normal Corn Snake
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 BCI
0.1 California King

A lot of introduced species have. For instance the before-mentioned feral pig, dingo, as well as others are somewhat "evolved" fromwhat they were originally. The pigs had to become less domesticated, and today's feral pigs are more wild and fit for defense than the original introduced animals.
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0.0.1 San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
0.0.2 Yellow Rat Snake
0.1 Normal Cornsnake
0.0.1 Eastern Garter Snake
0.0.1 Brown Water Snake

n/m
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1.0 Normal Corn Snake
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 BCI
0.1 California King

Yeah, evolved is a very loosely used term. But to evolve in the sense of a group of animals diverging to the point that they cant breed, or won't -- that takes longer than people have have known this stuff happens. Is uspect there wouldnt be any rules about this for many millenia lol, when introduced species will have had time to truly "evolve".
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0.0.1 San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
0.0.2 Yellow Rat Snake
0.1 Normal Cornsnake
0.0.1 Eastern Garter Snake
0.0.1 Brown Water Snake

n/p
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1.0 Normal Corn Snake
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 BCI
0.1 California King