NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
Thamnophis elegans (Baird & Girard, 1853)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Thamnophis elegans (Baird & Girard, 1853)
- Name authority
- (Baird & Girard, 1853)
- Common name
- Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Thamnophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyNatricinae
- genusThamnophis
- speciesThamnophis elegans (Baird & Girard, 1853)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Thamnophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Coast Aquatic Garter SnakeThamnophis atratus Kennicott, 1860 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Conant's GartersnakeThamnophis bogerti Rossman & Burbrink, 2005 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Thamnophis cyrtopsis (Kennicott, 1860) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Montane Garter SnakeThamnophis exsul Rossman, 1969 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Giant Garter SnakeThamnophis gigas Fitch, 1940 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Checkered Garter SnakeThamnophis marcianus (Baird & Girard, 1853) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Tamaulipan Montane Garter SnakeThamnophis mendax Walker, 1955 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northwestern Garter SnakeThamnophis ordinoides (Baird & Girard, 1852) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Ribbon SnakeThamnophis proximus (Say, 1823) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Eastern RibbonsnakeThamnophis saurita (Linnaeus, 1766) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Short-tail Alpine Garter SnakeThamnophis scaliger (Jan, 1863) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| West Coast Garter SnakeThamnophis validus (Kennicott, 1860) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Eutaenia biscutata Cope, 1883 Cope, 1883 | synonym |
| Thamnophis elegans nigrescens Johnson, 1947 Johnson, 1947 | synonym |
| Thamnophis elegans vascotanneri Tanner & Lowe, 1989 Tanner & Lowe, 1989 | synonym |
| Eutaenia elegans brunnea Cope, 1892 Cope, 1892 | synonym |
| Thamnophis elegans arizonae Tanner & Lowe, 1989 Tanner & Lowe, 1989 | synonym |
| Thamnophis ordinoides hueyi Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923 Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923 | synonym |
| Eutainia vagrans Baird & Girard, 1853 Baird & Girard, 1853 | synonym |
| Eutainia elegans Baird & Girard, 1853 Baird & Girard, 1853 | synonym |
| Tropidonotus trivittatus Hallowell, 1853 Hallowell, 1853 | synonym |
| Eutaenia vagrans plutonia Yarrow, 1883 Yarrow, 1883 | synonym |
| Eutaenia henshawi Yarrow, 1883 Yarrow, 1883 | synonym |
| Eutaenia elegans lineolata Cope, 1892 Cope, 1892 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Thamnophis&species=elegans Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:563KK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.