Common garter snake
Scientific name: Thamnophis sirtalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
The common garter snake is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is indigenous to North America and found widely across the continent. There are several recognized subspecies. Most common garter snakes have a pattern of yellow stripes on a black, brown or green background, and their average total length is about 55 cm (22 in), with a maximum total length of about 137 cm (54 in). The average body mass is 150 g (5.3 oz). The common garter snake is the state reptile of Massachusetts.
From the Wikipedia article “Common garter snake”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: S Canada (incl. Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island),.
Common names
Also known in English as Common Gartersnake, Red-sided Garter Snake.
Names in other languages (8)
- Arabic
- غرطر مألوف
- Chinese
- 束帶蛇
- French
- Couleuvre rayée
- German
- Gewöhnliche Strumpfbandnatter
- Persian
- مار بندجورابی معمولی
- Russian
- Common gartersnake
- Spanish
- Jarretera Comün
- Turkish
- Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q911786, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Common garter snake”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Wilson44691, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026