range maps with herps often tend to be horribly inaccurate and should be used as a general guide at best (as I'm sure you all know). Back in 1995 when the atlas program in Vermont started there was a line drawn right through the middle of the state denoting that below that line there were four-toed salamanders and above it there weren't. Range maps are often a game of connect the dots and the people who draw them know that a species occurs in point A and point B but without reports above either of those points they can only draw a line from one to the other and try to make it match up with geographical features. Since 1995 four-toed salamanders have been found in Northern VT as well as well up into Canada. If that map is from '96 then who knows what has been learned since then...

That ratsnake map puts ratsnakes in southwestern vermont but they have never been reported from there despite large amounts of survey work. that is the opposite case as above in that after connecting the dots the range map placed a species in a place where they probably do not occur. I've got nothing against range maps, I just think everybody should to understand that the people who draw them never have time to survey and determine the absolute range for themselves -- all they usually do is collect the data available at the time and make a best guess as to where the range boundaries occur based on the information they could find. Individual state maps are often accurate but even then they should not be taken as fact. If we knew where every herp occurred in VT we would not have a need for survey work (of which there is plenty).

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• What is this snake? - mertiro, Wed Apr 30 15:04:32 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - Clydesdale, Wed Apr 30 15:42:44 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - herplover1978, Wed Apr 30 15:47:45 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - herplover1978, Wed Apr 30 15:59:11 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - mertiro, Wed Apr 30 17:29:02 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - Hollychan, Wed Apr 30 19:03:37 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - batrachos, Wed Apr 30 19:40:25 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - herplover1978, Wed Apr 30 19:56:00 2008
• Juvie Black Rat n/p - viborero, Wed Apr 30 20:49:23 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - DMong, Wed Apr 30 21:51:59 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - batrachos, Thu May 1 16:46:29 2008
• The range map's from..... - DMong, Thu May 1 19:42:33 2008
• RE: The range map's from..... - anuraanman, Thu May 1 23:45:05 2008
• RE: The range map's from..... - DMong, Thu May 1 23:59:06 2008
• RE: The range map's from..... - wolfpackh, Fri May 2 07:59:53 2008
• RE: The range map's from..... - batrachos, Fri May 2 13:33:09 2008
• RE: What is this snake? - wolfpackh, Thu May 1 13:42:27 2008