New Jersey Pinelands Fee Herpetologist Jeff Dragon captured, photographed and launched a queen snake (Regina septemvittata) after three years of in search of the species. Dragon initially was alerted by a pal who first discovered one in a 2021 that he had noticed a queen snake in his basement. His pal photographed the reptile after which launched it. His pal then discovered two extra neonates that had been suspected to have been killed by a pal’s cat. Dragon then embarked upon a years lengthy quest to seek out the species, looking the riparian habitats through which the snake was recognized to inhabit.
The primary queen snake present in New Jersey in additional than 50 years. Photograph by Jeff Dragon
REPTILES Journal communicated with Dragon through e mail concerning his discover and what lies forward for the way forward for this most stealthy of species.
REPTILES Journal: You’ve been trying to find queen snakes since 2021 and at last occurred upon one on a shrub. What did you suppose instantly after you noticed it?
Jeff Dragon: I assumed lastly!! Given the three information in and round the home, I knew it was a matter of time, however an hour and a half right into a seek for herps is the place you begin to burn out and have a look at the telephone and many others. Subsequently, my guard was being put down simply as I seemed up and noticed her coiled within the alder. Even after I grabbed her, it took me just a few seconds to be absolutely positive this was a queen earlier than I acquired excited for nothing. I had already flipped a brown garter with gold stripes within the neighborhood, and had each northern water snakes and garter snakes drop from shrubs over the water. As soon as I used to be positive it was a queen, I form of began hyperventilating I suppose, it by no means occurred to me earlier than. Nobody was round for me to yell “I acquired one!!” so I simply type of had this bizarre response of witnessing historical past and holding the primary dwell grownup queen snake recorded in nearly 50 years.
RM: How far was the queen snake from a physique of water?
JD: I ought to say that as we speak, 4/23/24, my pal whose property it’s, simply discovered a dwell grownup male inside roughly 20 yards of the one I discovered on 4/14/24. He isn’t a herper and I used to be very impressed he took the time to establish the primary one he present in his basement in 2021, and didn’t simply dismiss it as a garter snake and many others. With out him doing his due diligence the species would nonetheless be dismissed as extirpated. With that stated, I feel he caught the herping bug now.
Each adults had been inside the riparian portion of the stream. It’s a thick scrub-shrub and emergent wetland advanced proper alongside the stream financial institution.
RM: Did you ever consider giving up taking care of three years of not discovering one?
JD: I knew they needed to be current. With the primary particular person discovered within the basement I stored an open thoughts that one thing bizarre may have occurred (ie. Traveled in a plant and many others.). After the second particular person was discovered the next yr, once more in his home, I used to be absolutely on board with there having to be a inhabitants current. After putting out discovering one in habitat in 2021, 2022, and 2023 coming and going with no observations, I used to be actually changing into discouraged. I assumed perhaps it is a very small inhabitants and with the thick vegetation, detection will likely be an all-time low. Nonetheless, each time I might do my search I stored telling myself, there needs to be a inhabitants current, these neonates and younger of the yr didn’t simply spontaneously seem. I’ve seemed for uncommon herps the place historic information exist, however the habitat has modified drastically or the information are unclear, and also you type of hold that at the back of your thoughts and it impacts your search. On this case I knew it was only a matter of placing within the time.
RM: It has been 45 years and also you discovered one. How do you are feeling concerning the prospects for this species in New Jersey?
JD: I feel a mixture of some components have prompted the species to go undetected this lengthy. First, this portion of NJ has little or no public land and entry. Second, the snake is a small, drab, brown species that’s unlikely to elicit a response from most non-reptile folks. Lastly, it’s a very aquatic species, subsequently folks sometimes gained’t encounter them of their yards or alongside climbing trails and many others. I’m hoping this isn’t only a small pocket of the final inhabitants, however an indication that we have to search higher or rethink the best way we seek for them. Getting personal landowners on board will likely be an vital element.
RM: What’s subsequent for you and this species?
JD: Now that we’ve confirmed presence for this species, I feel the following step is determining abundance and its present vary/distribution in NJ. It will be nice to survey some areas alongside this identical watershed and decide if we will discover extra upstream and down, in addition to search adjoining watersheds. The historic vary has it listed in a number of counties and watersheds, so could be good to see if we will work out its present day vary higher. Is perhaps an amazing avenue for EDNA analysis. If we will get a transmitter sufficiently small to final the season, it could be nice to radio observe some and discover their hibernaculum, in addition to normal habits and residential vary measurement.
RM: Do you’ve got any formal coaching in biology/herpetology?
JD: Sure, I’m a herpetologist for the New Jersey Pinelands Fee, an impartial state company whose mission is to protect, defend, an improve the pure and cultural sources of the Pinelands Nationwide Reserve. I do analysis on the northern pine snake, corn snake, timber rattlesnake, japanese kingsnake, and japanese hognose. We’re additionally in the midst of an japanese field turtle research investigating their relationship with hearth, and I survey 22 ponds yearly for presence and abundance of the pinelands anuran species together with the pine barrens tree frog. I did my graduate analysis on wooden turtles and have executed analysis in some capability with bathroom turtles. Loads of my present day analysis focuses on using radio telemetry to be taught concerning the species together with the important habitats obligatory for nesting and denning.
An grownup male discovered close to the realm through which the grownup feminine was discovered. This snake was discovered April 23, 2024. Photograph by Nick Overholt
Queen Snake Info
The queen snake is a nonvenomous semi-aquatic snake that’s within the subfamily Natricinae and within the household Colubridae. Endemic to North America, its habitat contains rivers, streams and different riparian zones. It’s a crayfish specialist, feeding on freshly molted crayfish. It’s olive grey to darkish brown in coloration and attain about 24 inches in whole size, however not a lot greater.
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