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Record length question

T

TOsage

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My first venomous snake I ever collected is still with me today. I'll try to take some pictures for anyone who might care. I've had this particular animal for 18 years and he measured approximately 42 inches last I checked. I believe this would be well over the subspecies record but my question is this. Does anyone know where to find current record lengths for snakes or does anyone care about a snake that may be a new subspecies record length?
 
I think it is definitely worthwhile establishing something you think is a record. Perhaps you could start a record thread people could add onto.
I looked around for sources but am not sure how reliable some of these are, some are tied to entertainment productions or other income producing ventures, so it would be nice to have a thread here, with the critter and a measuring yardstick or similar alongside.
 
Subspecies records aren't really reported much any more, but it's still possible. It would help a lot to know what species you're even talking about, but to find the current record, start with something like Ernst and Ernst LINK to verify your animal is actually a big one, then check for updates in Herp Review LINK and Herpetology Notes LINK. Make sure you're reading and comparing TL (Total Length) or SVL (Snout Vent Length) correctly. Once you've exhausted those resources and assuming you do have a potential record you can draft and submit a quick note for something like Herp Review. I suspect a captive animal won't be of particular significance to researchers, but it does hold some value and Herp Review will probably accept the note assuming you've done the research.

Below is an example of reporting length and clutch size - see the foxsnake note in the lower right of the first page.
http://snakeevolution.org/pdfs/HR43(1)150-151McKelvy.pdf

Hope that helps!
 
Sorry I forgot to mention the species, duh... It's a trans-pecos copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster. The record I have seen is around 33 inches.
 
95 cm is the current record for the species you're referring to. Fortunately subspecies are no longer recognized for the two US Agkistrodon. http://cnah.org/pdf/88290.pdf

You may have a species record, then. Cool. You can use the above reference in your note and you don't have to do as much work in researching.
 
“The broad-banded copperhead (A. laticinctus) is a medium-sized pit viper with an average adult size of 56–76 cm and a maximum size of 95 cm (Gloyd & Conant, 1990; Conant & Collins,1991)”
According to that information the snake I have would likely be well over the reported maximum size for the western copperhead, Agkistrodon laticinctus, which now contains the former pictigaster subspecies. It does not specifically state that 95 cm is the "record" but maybe that’s just semantics. According to my last measurement, my Trans-Pecos Copperhead, Agkistrodon contotrix pictigaster which recently turned into a Western Copperhead, Agkistrodon laticinctus would be roughly 106 cm and would be a new species record length if in fact the standing record is 95 cm. However I was measuring snout to tip of the tail, not snout to vent and wasn’t trying to be exact so I’ll have to re-measure. I was unable to find any information on record length for this species in the Herpetology Notes and I do not own a copy of Ernst and Ernst – if anyone else does or has any information on this topic please chime in or PM me. I was questioning if captive animals would be disqualified from record lengths but this one was wild caught so it is 100% wild blood if that matters. I collected the snake myself as a juvenile, probably a yearling in June 1998 in Brewster County Texas. Thank you again Alexander, I will take some pictures and work on submitting a note to Herp Review if it looks like a valid record.
 
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