AnAge entry for Thamnophis elegans

Classification (HAGRID: 03031)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Reptilia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Squamata
                Family: Colubridae
                    Genus: Thamnophis
Species: Thamnophis elegans
Common name: Western terrestrial garter snake

Maximum longevity: 17.8 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 451
Sample size: Tiny
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: Reproductive success appears to increase with age in these animals, suggesting increasing fecundity with age [0766]. The insulin/insulin-like signalling pathway mediates life history trade-offs in mammalian model organisms. In contrast to mammals, IGF2 levels exceeded those of IGF1 in the mountain garter snake. IGF2 may play a more prominent role in postnatal growth and environmental sensing, a role IGF1 normally encompasses in placental mammals [1201].

: No information is available on life history. Please contact us if you wish to suggest or contribute data.

No information on metabolism is available.

[1201] Reding et al. (2016), Insulin-like signaling (IIS) responses to temperature, genetic background, and growth variation in garter snakes with divergent life histories (PubMed)
[1308] Myhrvold et al. (2015), An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles
[0883] Robert and Bronikowski (2010), Evolution of senescence in nature: physiological evolution in populations of garter snake with divergent life histories (PubMed)
[0918] Sparkman et al. (2009), Evolutionary ecology of endocrine-mediated life-history variation in the garter snake Thamnophis elegans (PubMed)
[0950] Bronikowski (2008), The evolution of aging phenotypes in snakes: a review and synthesis with new data (PubMed)
[0766] Sparkman et al. (2007), An empirical test of evolutionary theories for reproductive senescence and reproductive effort in the garter snake Thamnophis elegans (PubMed)
[0451] Frank & Kate's Web Page