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ZoPteryx β Peering Out
#colubrid #gopher #gophersnake #peering #reptile #serpent #snake #pituophis #peeringout #harmlesssnake
Published: 2015-10-24 05:52:28 +0000 UTC; Views: 686; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 1
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Description
A big adult Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer annectens) spies passing joggers from the edge of a busy trail, wisely choosing to stay silent. Β The humans pose a far a greater threat to this "rattlesnake look-alike" than it does to them.Photo taken in Orange County, CA.
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Comments: 12
Gopher snake! I guessed right! I hardly see them here anymore.
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Yeah, I don't see them as much as I used to either...
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Well, since this is a photo of a colubrid, I'm curious what your hypothesis is on the possibly monophyly or polyphyly of the family. I'm currently working with a lot of dead colubrids in my university research but sadly don't have the resources (as of now) to do a molecular / genetic analysis.
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Well I'm not too well read into the subject, but I suspect a number of groups will be elevated out of colubridae and up to their own family-level, perhaps reducing colubridae to just more "stereotypical-looking" forms (water snakes, racers, rat snakes, etc). Β A lot of these outliers will probably fall into elapidae, or maybe elapidae will even become a subfamily within an expanded colubridae. Β Of course, I'm just guessing here.
Out of curiosity, what does your research involve?
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I'm currently looking into the palaeoecology of Pleistocene South Dakota, USA. Hopefully soon, I will also start on calculating the bite force for Arctodus simus (short faced bear).
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Ooh, very interesting!
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Thanks. You wouldn't happen to know of any places where I can acquire an Arctodus skull (or cast of a skull), would you? Or (this is probably even less likely) a Livyatan melvillei skull? My professor was originally hoping we could get the Arctodus skull from the Field Museum in Chicago, but that one's currently on display.
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Hmm, the George C. Page Museum or the Los Angeles NHM might have a spare Arctodus skull, seeing as the species is reasonably common in the nearby tar pits. Β Unfortunately, I have no clue where one would get a Livyatan skull, the Smithsonian perhaps?
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Okay. Thanks for the suggestions. I've talked to my professor, & we'll hopefully be acquiring a skull within the next few weeks.
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