Re: Chinese Corn??

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Posted by tmc on November 02, 2001 at 05:18:51:

In Reply to: Chinese Corn?? posted by Graeme on November 01, 2001 at 17:06:26:

: Just bought a small snake sold as a "chinese corn". Damned if it didn't look like a garter snake! I bought it on the spot because it was cheap and attractive. Just doing some surfing, I see posts re-garding a varity of names attributed to this snake. It sure doesn't look like my common corn, or the twin-spot. Is it a member of Thamnophis? Is is a member of Elaphe? What is it? Sure looks similar to a garter snake. Thanx.

On 9-23-01, my buddy, Rex Knight, posted that there had been some revisions on the Old World Elaphe. One change was that 'rufodorsata' was put into Ocatochus rufodorsata, and is no longer in Elaphe. It's long been thought that "rufos" are not ratsnakes.

My feelings are that the species belongs with the miniature Eurasians, with E. bimaculata and dione as the closest relationships. The requirements are similar, except rufos eat fish and frogs, mostly, when wild. They are from the same region of the Far East, and seem to be ecological equivalents of some of the garter snakes, with some important differences. Bimaculata, dione, and rufodorsata are all constrictors, and garters are not. Also, bimaculata and dione lay eggs, while rufodorsata and the garters are live-bearing. Good luck.

Terry/Ratsnake Haven

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: : Just bought a small snake sold as a "chinese corn". Damned if it didn't look like a garter snake! I bought it on the spot because it was cheap and attractive. Just doing some surfing, I see posts re-garding a varity of names attributed to this snake. It sure doesn't look like my common corn, or the twin-spot. Is it a member of Thamnophis? Is is a member of Elaphe? What is it? Sure looks similar to a garter snake. Thanx. : : On 9-23-01, my buddy, Rex Knight, posted that there had been some revisions on the Old World Elaphe. One change was that 'rufodorsata' was put into Ocatochus rufodorsata, and is no longer in Elaphe. It's long been thought that "rufos" are not ratsnakes. : My feelings are that the species belongs with the miniature Eurasians, with E. bimaculata and dione as the closest relationships. The requirements are similar, except rufos eat fish and frogs, mostly, when wild. They are from the same region of the Far East, and seem to be ecological equivalents of some of the garter snakes, with some important differences. Bimaculata, dione, and rufodorsata are all constrictors, and garters are not. Also, bimaculata and dione lay eggs, while rufodorsata and the garters are live-bearing. Good luck. : Terry/Ratsnake Haven

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