Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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np

in Louis Porrras' Vivarium article on hondurans (vol 7, no. 5, 1996) that photo was credited to Breck Bartholomew.

the cutline read, "In captivity Honduran milk snakes often exceed the maximum length recorded for wild-caught specimens. Imported in the late 1970s, this specimen is just shy of 8 ft (2.4 m) in length, and perhaps is the longest of all triangulum."

cutlines are written by editors after they read the article. here's what Louis himself said, in the article:

"According to Williams (1978) the record-size specimen for hondurensis is a female measuring approximately 60 in (1.5 m). I had the opportunity to measure a number of wild-caught specimens imported through the commercial trade that exceeded that size. In captivity specimens often attain a large size. A wild-caught male imported in the late 1970s is now nearly eight ft (2.5m), a total length far greater than has been reported for any subspecies of triangulum."

Louis had considerable experience on which to base his observations: he reported seeing hundreds of hondurans at commercial dealers' compounds during his visits to Honduras. He was co-operator of The Shed, in Miami, an early reptile importer and dealer. (see next post)

Wow, I've been in this hobby for longer than I thought, I remembered this photo from that article in '96. But if you ask me my home address sometimes, I might have to look it up ;O)
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"Nothing happens in contradiction to nature, only to what we know of it."

a recent post about albino hondurans and their classification mentioned specific snout-ring characteristics...

in his Vivarium article Louis Porras noted that Williams (1978) used the presence of a 'broad white band'...on the snout as one of the diagnostic characters differentiating hondurensis from other triangulum.

Louis wrote "I...examined numerous live specimens of triangulum from Honduras, all from within the range of hondurensis, with a completely black head, or with a narrow, long, or broken snout ring. Aside from white i found gray, yellow or orange snout rings also common."

Louis said "the paucity of museum specimens of milk snakes from Honduras is surprising, since between 1974 and 1985, thousands of milk snakes were exported commercially from Honduras to the United States and Europe...

"Because of the lack of museum specimens for study, it is not surprising that the variation seen in milk snakes from Honduras in the commercial market during those years went far beyond what had been reported in the literature..."

td