Quote Originally Posted by count dewclaw View Post
I have always wondered if T. s. tetrataenia was a pattern morph of T. s. infernalis that was local to the San Francisco area....Does anyone know what information was used to classify them as a sub-species separately from T. s. infernalis?

yea.... this is exactly what I was gonna say.... is there anything that separates them, apart from pattern? I know that because they are their own population they are genetically separate, but could they have actually been a striped mutation of infernalis that just happened to sominate that area? I have a plains garter that is striped and smeared like that first infernalis pictured, a really unique snake... she is a sibling to Scott Felzer's "aztec" there were only 2 born in that clutch, to a wild mother....

when you compare strictly visuals, my striped plains is to plains garters, what San-Frans are to infernalis!