These snakes are identified as
1-2 Rhabdophis tigrina
3-4 Pantherophis guttatus
are these right?
Greetings
as for image 1-2 probably you are right. But as for 3-4 the image is not so good to help in identifying the species
regards
Judging from their color pattern, snakes in images 1 and 2 seem to belong to Rhabdophis laterals, a species occurring in temperate Eastern Eurasia. This snake was formerly regarded as a subspecies of, or synonymous to, Rhabdophis tigrinus, but recent molecular and chromosomal studies revealed its full species status (see attached file and other recent publications cited therein). Unfortunately I have no idea for snakes in images 3 and 4.
The second could be P. guttatus but hard to tell from the pics. Can you get a better view of the ventral scale pattern? The head shape is a little off but I think it was probably preserved in an odd posture.
Hidetoshi, what are the differences between R. laterals and R. tigrinus? I want to be sure about the species.
Alexander, here are some photos that could help you identify the second snake.
Sorry, but specific epithet in my previous letter is incorrect: it should be lateralis, NOT laterals (actually I had spelled "lateralis" by myself, but it was automatically "corrected" into wrong spelling "laterals"). Coloration of Rhabdophis tigrinus sensu lato is highly variable, but such a combination of prominently reddish ground color (mostly in thin skins filling interspaces among scales) with so many narrow black bands in the anterior body as shown in these photos (second one in particular) is very rare if any in populations of Japan (to which R. tigrinus sensu stricto is confined), but seemingly relatively common in some parts of the continental China, where only R. lateralis occurs.
As far as I aware, the species of Rhabdophis inhabiting Russian Far East called R. tigrina and the specimen in the jar (1,2) is exactly possess patterns which it has in Russia.
I would say it is most possibly tigrina, and not lateralis...
Not sure about the id of second species, sorry.
Here is the linbk to FB of specimens I have kept for many years myself (col. from Khabarovsk region and Vladivostok reg):
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/168587_10150113210346672_5210770_n.jpg?oh=8dd7ccb6f9f24bb5a6ec75afd8306ac8&oe=57C89E7D
I completely agree that those specimens show pattern possessed by populations of the Russian Far East, as well as of the continental China and Korean Peninsula (i.e., eastern part of the Eurasian Continent exclusive of tropical/subtropical regions). I also admit that all those continental populations were referred to as Rhabdophis tigrinus or Rhabdophis tigrinus lateralis until recently, when Takeuchi et al (2012, Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 105: 395-408; 2014, Curr. Herpetol. 33: 148-153) clarified distinct collective genetic and phylogenetic divergences of the continental populations including that of the Russian Far East from the Japanese nominotypical populations of Rhabdophis tigrinus. Considering these additional pieces of information, I believe that the snakes in these photographs should be most appropriately referred to as Rhabdophis lateralis, as the above authors already argued in those publications.
Dear Dr. Hidetoshi Ota, I know the whole story and understand the situation but unfortunately this is not accepted and is not included into any databases (I can't find any records).
Dear Dr. Mikhail F. Bagaturov, please, let me know your e-mail contact. I then will send you pdfs of relevant papers.
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