Thursday, April 30, 2009

Queen Snake at Miami University


Just an hour ago, we were searching for herps at a Quarry in Hueston Woods which is about 10 minutes from Miami University. It turned out to be a good hunt as we found 9 different species of herps. About halfway into the trip and a few hundred yards of searching down a stream, a queen snake, Regina Septemvittata, was uncovered. It was hiding in its typical hiding space of bedrock. They are brown aquatic snakes with stripes along lower sides of their body and can be often confused with Garter snakes. They have keeled scales and a divided anal plate which can be used to distinguish them from Garter snakes. They hide at river's edge to catch their prey -crayfish. They preferably feed on crayfish which recently shed as their shells will be softer.

-Alex Hamad