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11-12 of 12 messages
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RE: Records
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by AquaHerp on March 29, 2011
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Records usually come from ..... well....anywhere. The realm of academics working in the feild, zoos, nature centers, park staff, private collections, the elderly woman who killed one in her woodpile.....etc.
Records are only official records when they can be verified and logged in. As many have said, range extensions, periods of activity, seasonality and more, are only as good as the data entered in. Keep in mind that dead snakes lose muscle tone and the spine relaxes so you may get a measurement up to 1/3 longer than the animal would actually be in its live state.
Keep in mind that animals in captivity are prone to large sizes that are inflated by living the good life. Does this mean that the measurement is not accurate? No. It is what it is. Weight on the other hand may be discounted for obese animals. Also: Animal get big and robust in the wild by learning to avoid predators, including us. Hence, we don't see the big ones mostly because they know how to stay out of view. Occasionally one pops up. Hopefully, those get recorded. Many of the records are taken from older publications and have not been updated now that there are more people in the field, more access to secluded spots, and a better flow of information.
Years ago I was talking to folks very well known in the timber rattlesnake arena as the experts. I told them of a monster male that I had come across. They assured me, rather sarcastically, that I obviously was way off on my measurements. It just so happened that I still had the snake in a holding enclosure awaiting release (we had implanted a transmitter the day before). They saw the snake, talked amongst themselves and politely apologized. That snake still stands as Indiana's new record timber. The data out there can only be as good as what is put in.
DH
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Largest Diamonback you've seen?
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by norton2282 on April 15, 2011
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Im wondering whats the largest and heaviest diamondback anyone's evern seen/caught?
Please reply with photos if possible
thanks
norton2282@yahoo.com
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