THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Natricidae  

Butler's Gartersnake
Thamnophis butleri (Cope, 1889)
THAM-noh-fiss — BUT-ler-eye

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.13.42.10)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.35 MB

Province/State Distribution:
Canada: Ontario
United States: Indiana Michigan Ohio Wisconsin

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of an American zoologist.
Thamnophis — From Greek thamnos (θάμνος), “bush” or “shrub,” and ophis (ὄφις), “snake.” The name means “bush-snake” or “shrub-snake,” likely referring to the habitats where these snakes are commonly found.
butleri — A patronym honoring Amos W. Butler (1860–1937), an Indiana naturalist, conservationist, and early contributor to regional faunal surveys, including reptiles and amphibians.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Butler's Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Butler's Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1889 Cope, Edward D. On the Eutaenia of southeastern Indiana. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 11:399-400
1904 Ruthven, Alexander G. Butler's Garter Snake. Biological Bulletin 7:289-299
1908 Ruthven, Alexander G. Variations and genetic relationships of the garter-snakes. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (61):1-201
1932 Davis, D. Dwight. Occurence of Thamnophis butleri Cope in Wisconsin. Copeia 1932(3):113-118
1980 Minton, Sherman A. Thamnophis butleri. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (258):1-2
1994 De Queiroz, Alan and Robin Lawson. Phylogenetic relationships of the garter snakes based on DNA sequence and allozyme variation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 53:209-229
2002 de Queiroz, Alan, Robin Lawson, and Julio A. Lemos-Espinal. Phylogenetic relationships of North American garter snakes (Thamnophis) based on four mitochondrial genes: How much DNA sequence is enough?. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22(2):315-329

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:58 CT