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Timber vs Cane RS - Chad Minter's book
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by Ptk on October 24, 2008
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I have heard from several places (one being Chad's book) "Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast" that one of the differences between Timber RS and Canebrake RS is their scalation.
Can someone elaborate on what is different about it?
Thanks!!
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RE: Timber vs Cane RS - Chad Minter's book
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by Cro on October 24, 2008
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Patrick, in the past, reptiles were largly classified by Morphological Analysis, which looked at differences in Scale Counts, Patterns, Hemipenes, and Geographic Range.
Unfortunatly, that no longer works, as mDNA Science is showing relationships between snakes that were not known before.
While it is true that there are scale count differences between what was once considered the Canebrake Rattlesnake and the Timber Rattlesnake, those are no longer valid enough to seperate the two animals into sub-species. They are all now just considered to be Timber Rattlesnakes. Crotalus horridus. The population is Clinal, which means it changes gradually across the range of the animals.
You will still find many snake hunters who will continue to see a strong difference between the low-land form of Timbers that were once called Canebrakes, and the mountain form of Timbers, and who will continue to call them by the old names, even though those names are no longer scientifically valid.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: Timber vs Cane RS - Chad Minter's book
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by Ptk on October 25, 2008
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Thanks John Z,
Guess I am a little behind the times?! That's whats great about this hobby, the science never rests. Thanks for setting me straight!!
Suggest any good sources to learn more about mDNA?
PTK
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RE: Timber vs Cane RS - Chad Minter's book
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by Cro on October 25, 2008
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Patrick, most of the new Reptile Systematics work is very complicated to read, and there is not a real good article or book that explains it in easy to understand terms very well. It is a very new science. However, we all need to try to become more familiar with it, becuase the use of mDNA and Nuclear DNA is what all of the future classifications of animals will be based on.
However, you might try starting at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cladogram
Then visit the sites of Dr. Wolfgang Wuster and Dr. Bryan Greig Fry, as they are two of the top researchers in this field.
http://biology.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/
http://venomdoc.com/
Also, you might want to read this posting:
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/forums/Experts/37329
It basically will tell you how the Copperheads and Cottonmouths are all being changed, very much as the Timber and Canebrake Rattlesnakes were.
Best Regards John Z
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