Garter Snakes
Thamnophis
Garter snake is the common name for small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus Thamnophis in the family Colubridae. They are native to North and Central America, ranging from central Canada in the north to Costa Rica in the south.
With about 37 recognized species and 52 subspecies, garter snakes are highly variable in appearance; generally, they have large round eyes with rounded pupils, a slender build, keeled scales (appearing 'raised'), and a pattern of longitudinal stripes that may or may not include spots (although some have no stripes at all). Certain subspecies have stripes of blue, yellow, or red, mixed with black tops and beige-tan underbelly markings. They also vary significantly in total length, from 18 to 51 in (46 to 130 cm).
36 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 36 known species
Common Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis sirtalis
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis elegans
Western Ribbon Snake
speciesThamnophis proximus
Northwestern Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis ordinoides
Common Ribbon Snake
speciesThamnophis saurita
Plains Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis radix
Checkered Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis marcianus
Black-necked Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis cyrtopsis
Aquatic Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis atratus
Two-striped Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis hammondii
Sierra Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis couchii
Mexican Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis eques
Longtail Alpine Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis scalaris
Butler's Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis butleri
Blackbelly Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis melanogaster
Short-tail Alpine Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis scaliger
Yellow-throated Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis pulchrilatus
Short-headed Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis brachystoma
West Coast Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis validus
Giant Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis gigas
Bogert's Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis bogerti
Mexican Wandering Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis errans
Goldenhead Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis chrysocephalus
Narrowhead Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis rufipunctatus
Sumichrast's Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis sumichrasti
Highland Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis fulvus
Ahumada’s Alpine Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis ahumadai
Madrean Narrow-headed Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis unilabialis
Cope's Mountain Meadow Snake
speciesThamnophis copei
Rossman's Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis rossmani
Godman's Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis godmani
Southern Durango Spotted Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis nigronuchalis
Tamaulipan Montane Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis mendax
Tepalcatepec Valley Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis postremus
Montane Garter Snake
speciesThamnophis exsul
Fox's Mountain Meadow Snake
speciesThamnophis foxi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Thamnophis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 28339.