Among those lost were three critically endangered species: the Louisiana pine snake, Catalina Island rattlesnake and Aruba Island rattlesnake.
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The animals that died included three critically endangered species — the Louisiana pine snake, Catalina Island rattlesnake and Aruba Island rattlesnake, the zoo said.
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Today, there are more than 2,300 plants and animals with protected status in the US and abroad, with the Louisiana pine snake becoming the most recent addition in May.
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P. m. mugitus, Florida pine snake Three subspecies of Pituophis melanoleucus are currently recognized: the nominate subspecies P. m. melanoleucus (Daudin, 1803), the northern pine snake; P. m. lodingi (Blanchard, 1924), the black pine snake; and P. m.
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Common names for this species, or its several subspecies, are: Pacific gopher snake, Henry snake, coast gopher snake, bullsnake, Churchill's bullsnake, Oregon bullsnake, Pacific pine snake, western bullsnake, western gopher snake, Sonoran gopher snake, western pine snake, great basin gopher snake, blow snake, and yellow gopher snake.
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The pine snake requires well-drained, sandy soils with little vegetation for use as nesting and hibernation sites.
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The Louisiana pine snake (Pituophis ruthveni) is a species of large, nonvenomous constrictor of the family Colubridae. This powerful snake is notable because of its large eggs and small clutch sizes. The Louisiana pine snake is indigenous to west-central Louisiana and East Texas, where it relies strongly on Baird's pocket gophers for its burrow system and as a food source. The Louisiana pine snake is rarely seen in the wild, and is considered to be one of the rarest snakes in North America.
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Florida pine snake with a light pattern The pine snake preys on rats, mice, moles and other small mammals and eggs. It often enters rodent burrows in search of a meal. In these cases, multiple kills are frequent, with the snake pressing the mice against the walls of the burrow. The snake remains underground in cold weather or during the heat of summer days.
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Florida pine snake The pine snake is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, due to its wide distribution and large number of subpopulations; while the total populations appears to be declining, this is likely happening at a slow rate. However, the species is thought to be impacted by continued habitat degradation and destruction. It is present in a variety of protected areas.
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Species with low reproductive rates, like the Louisiana pine snake, are typically incapable of quickly recovering from events that affect population size, increasing their potential for local extinctions. Survival of the Louisiana pine snake depends on that of Baird's pocket gopher, whose abundance, in turn, depends on the understory plants and loose, sandy soil of the longleaf pine savannas. In March 2004, eight state and federal agencies signed a landmark Candidate Conservation Agreement to protect the Louisiana pine snake on federal lands in Texas and Louisiana. Organizations participating in the effort include Fort Polk Military Installation, Kisatchie National Forest, National Forests in Texas, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeast and Southwest regions, and United States Forest Service's Southern Research Station.
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Pituophis melanoleucus, commonly known as the pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.
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This species exhibits a remarkably low reproductive rate, which magnifies other threats to the Louisiana pine snake. It has the smallest clutch size (three to five) of any North American colubrid and the largest eggs, generally long by wide, of any snake in the United States. It also produces the largest hatchlings reported for any North American snake, ranging in total length, and up to in weight. The large size of the pine snake hatchlings may be an adaptation to enable young to feed relatively early.
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High-quality longleaf pine forest here is preferred by species such as Bachman's sparrow, brown-headed nuthatch, gopher tortoise, and Florida pine snake. The upland habitat, interspersed with floodplain forests and marshes, offers prime habitat for both migratory and resident birds. The federally- listed gentian pinkroot grows within Apalachee Wildlife Management Area.
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Florida pine snake, close-up of the head Adults of P. melanoleucus are large, growing to in total length (including tail)Powell, Conant, Collins (2016). and are powerfully built. The head is small and somewhat pointed with an enlarged rostral scale that extends upward between the internasal scales. Usually, four prefrontal scales are seen.
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Black phoebe, a native bird. There is a diversity in plants and animals of temperate climate and semi-arid climate (Mezquital Valley). Native animals include: cacomistle, skunk, gopher, Virginia opossum, rabbit, Mexican gray squirrel, turkey, colibri, turkey vulture, northern mockingbird, rattlesnake, pine snake, black phoebe, rufous-crowned sparrow, great horned owl, axolotl, frog, toad, red ant, bee, and others.
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The species was first described by Olive Griffith Stull in 1929 as a subspecies of P. melanoleucus. In 1940, the Louisiana pine snake was promoted to the rank of species in another of Stull's articles. Its scientific name honors Alexander Grant Ruthven, the late herpetologist of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).
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Common names for L. getula include eastern kingsnake, common kingsnake, chain kingsnake, kingsnake, Carolina kingsnake, chain snake, bastard horn snake, black kingsnake, black moccasin, common chain snake, cow sucker, eastern kingsnake, horse racer, master snake, North American kingsnake, oakleaf rattler, pied snake, pine snake, racer, rattlesnake pilot, thunder-and-lightning snake, thunderbolt, thunder snake, wamper, wampum snake.In North Carolina, it is also called the pied piper.
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Urban development, conversion to agriculture, road construction, and mining have all contributed to loss and fragmentation of pine snake habitat. Direct human predation and collection for the pet trade may have also impacted populations. However, the greatest impact to populations has been loss of the native longleaf and shortleaf pine ecosystems. Virtually all timber in the South was cut during intensive commercial logging from 1870 to 1920.
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R. flavilata is found in scattered localities in coastal North Carolina and South Carolina, most of peninsular Florida, and small portions of Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana. The pine snake inhabits pine and mixed-pine hardwood forests. They can be found in damp woodlands, under bark and in rotten logs and stumps. The species has a scattered geographic distribution with large expanses occurring between known populations.
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P. gloydi is found in the eastern Great Lakes region. Both P. gloydi and P. vulpinus live in the state of Michigan. P. vulpinus lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where it is sometimes known as the pine snake, and P. gloydi lives in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. P. gloydi can also be found in Ohio in the United States, and in Western Ontario in Canada.
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In the scientific field of herpetology he is credited with having described more than 85"Jan". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. new species of snakes, and is honored by having several species and subspecies named after him, such as the Texas night snake (Hypsiglena torquata jani ), the Mexican pine snake (Pituophis deppei jani ), Jan's shovelsnout snake (Prosymna janii ), and Jan's centipede snake (Tantilla jani ).Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).
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Atotonilco de Tula municipality is a rural territory of Central Mexican Plateau, here there is a diversity in plants and animals of semi-desertic climate (Mezquital Valley). The native animals are cacomistle, skunk, gopher, bobcat, falcon, Virginia opossum, rabbit, Mexican gray squirrel, turkey, colibri, turkey vulture, northern mockingbird, rattlesnake, pine snake, xincoyote, red warbler, rufous- crowned sparrow, lesser roadrunner, great horned owl, frog, toad, red ant, bee, and others.
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The forest protects habitat for a wide array of plant species, including wild orchids and carnivorous plants. Two examples include the pale pitcher plant and rose pogonia orchid. Biologists have found 155 species of breeding or overwintering birds, 48 mammal species, 56 reptile species and 30 amphibian species. Rare animals include the Louisiana pine snake, the red-cockaded woodpecker, the Louisiana black bear and the Louisiana pearlshell mussel.United States Department of Agriculture. 1999.
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A second population occurs on federal lands in Vernon Parish (Fort Polk, U.S. Army, and Kisatchie National Forest). An apparent third population has been found near the junction of Vernon, Sabine, and Natchitoches Parishes. The extensive population declines and local extinctions of the Louisiana pine snake have occurred during the last 50–80 years. A habitat assessment of known historical localities found that only 34% were still considered capable of supporting a viable population of pine snakes.
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Frequent, low-intensity ground fires are required to maintain the open midstory of these forests; many of the plants must literally be burnt to reproduce or grow. Longleaf pine forests are very special habitats, being among the most biologically diverse ecosystems outside the tropics. Over 30 plant and animal species associated with longleaf pine ecosystems are endangered or species of concern. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association manages a Species Survival Plan for the Louisiana pine snake, headquartered at the Memphis Zoo.
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The Louisiana pine snake is generally associated with sandy, well-drained soils; open pine forests, especially longleaf pine savannas; moderate to sparse midstory; and a well- developed herbaceous understory dominated by grasses. Its activity appears to be heavily concentrated on low, broad ridges overlain with sandy soils. Baird's pocket gophers appear to be an essential component of their habitat. They create the burrow systems in which the pine snakes are most frequently found, and serve as a major source of food for the species.
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Possums, chipmunks, squirrels, beavers, muskrats, mice, foxes, raccoons, weasels, mink, river otter, and white-tailed deer are some of the more common mammals seen in the Pinelands. Commonly seen amphibians include the green frog, leopard frog, carpenter frog, and the Fowler's toad. Common reptiles include the northern water snake, pine snake, hognose snake, eastern garter snake, northern fence lizard, eastern painted turtle, red-bellied turtle, spotted turtle, musk turtle, and snapping turtle. The only venomous snake in the New Jersey Pine Barrens is the timber rattlesnake, which is a state-listed endangered species.
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Reptiles at the Zoo include Aldabra giant tortoise, American alligator, American crocodile, Aruba Island rattlesnake, black-breasted leaf turtle, black caiman, dusky pygmy rattlesnake, eastern green mamba, eastern coral snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern hognose, Egyptian cobra, eyelash viper, Florida cottonmouth, Florida pine snake, Gila monster, Grand Cayman Island rock iguana, green tree python, jungle carpet python, king cobra, long-nosed viper, Madagascar tree boa, Neuwied's lancehead snake, New Caledonian giant gecko, New Guinea crocodile monitor, prehensile-tailed skink, red rat snake, red spitting cobra, scarlet kingsnake, southern copperhead, tiger viper, timber rattlesnake, and West African mamba.
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In addition to the 151 species of birds that frequent the county, there are two species of whales, the loggerhead sea turtle, the northern pine snake, two species of treefrog, and the tiger salamander that inhabit the waters of Cape May County. Eight species of fish and four species of shellfish populate the coastal waters. About 30% of the county is covered by forests that runs the length of the Cape May peninsula and connects with the Pinelands. The largely unfragemented forest provides breeding grounds for the barred owl, red-shouldered hawk, and wood thrush, and also provides habitat for insects and migratory birds.
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Any remaining pine habitat occurs in isolated blocks and is often degraded by the lack of periodic wildfires. The suppression of natural fire events may represent the greatest threat to the Louisiana pine snake in recent years, decreasing both the quantity and quality of habitat available to pine snakes. The longleaf pine savanna forest evolved as a fire climax community, adapted to the occurrence of frequent, but low-intensity, ground fires. These natural fire events on sandy, well-drained soils typically maintained an overstory dominated by longleaf pine, with minimal midstory cover, but a well-developed understory of native bunch grasses and herbaceous plants.
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Tejocote tree, a native plant on Mesa Ahumada There is a diversity in plants and animals of temperate climate (Mexico Valley) and semi-arid climate (Mezquital Valley).Rodríguez Peláez, Maria Elena, Monografía municipal de Tequixquiac, Denominación y toponinimia, Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, Toluca de Lerdo, 1999. p.p. 44. Plants native to the municipality include: Native animals include: cacomistle, skunk, gopher, Virginia opossum, rabbit, Mexican gray squirrel, turkey, colibri, turkey vulture, northern mockingbird, rattlesnake, pine snake, xincoyote, red warbler, rufous-crowned sparrow, lesser roadrunner, great horned owl, axolotl, frog, toad, red ant, bee, and others. In prehistoric times, the area was populated by large mammals such as glyptodonts, mammoths, horses, and bison.
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He also collected in California and Hawaii on his way home in 1830. Some of his American flies were described by Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann in Aussereuropäische Zweiflügelige Insekten published in Hamm (1828–1830). In the field of herpetology, he is commemorated in the specific epithets of Abronia deppii (Deppe's arboreal alligator lizard), Aspidoscelis deppii (blackbelly racerunner), Pituophis deppei (Mexican pine snake), and Tantilla deppei (Deppe's centipede snake).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson His name is also associated with Deppe's squirrel (Sciurus deppei ) The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson and Oxalis deppei, the so-called "lucky four- leaf clover".
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As part of its conservation effort, the zoo participate in about 20 Species Survival Plans (SSP), including Andean condor, Chinese alligator, clouded leopard, colobus monkey, cotton-top tamarin, fishing cat, gibbon, golden lion tamarin, Indochinese tiger, jaguar, lion, lion-tailed macaque, Louisiana pine snake, maned wolf, ocelot, red wolf, spectacled bear, spider monkey, and toucan. In addition to species involved in Species Survival Plans, the zoo is home to other threatened or endangered species, including African dwarf crocodile, American crocodile, American black bear, Bengal tiger, black howler monkey, Brazilian tapir, Galapagos tortoise, lowland anoa, Nile crocodile, Palawan peacock pheasant, red-handed tamarin, and red kangaroo. Throughout the year, the zoo also sponsors special events to help promote conservation, including lectures, Party for the Planet, Wild Tie & Tennis Shoe Night, International Migratory Bird Day, Black Bear Awareness Day, and Endangered Species Day.
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