Oh sweet, since I have a parietalis now as well! Maybe they are related...
And itīs funny about the atratus-thing. Thatīs high on my wishlist as well. It has got to be a nordic thing!!
They seem very interesting in their highly aquatic lifestyle. Thereīs something about semi-aquatic critters that always captures me...donīt really know why..kind of weird maybe....
Oh well, the best of luck to you and your garters!
Chris
Two common garters. One is an
s.parietalis and the other is either an
s.parietalis,
s.sirtalis, or
s.sirtalis X
s.parietalis mix. I tried to get the thamnophis.com folks to identify it once and those were the three possible conclusions.
If the second one is a parietalis, it does have reduced red pigments, even if the
pattern (apart from being lighter in color below the lateral stripe) is pretty much identical to the first one's. The same kind of red markings, but the color is not as bright and gradually go from being red to pink to white. I don't know if there even is such a thing as a hypoerythristic red-sided garter and I'm sure it isn't the right description, but that's the first word that comes to mind.
Coincidentally, I traced that one back to Sweden, although I still don't know who there raised it.
Oh, and sent the importer an email about the possibility of getting me an atratus couple. Still haven't heard anything and it's the wrong time of year anyway.[/quote]