Western Ribbon Snake vs. Plains Garter Snake

Both can have an orange middle stripe and a side stripe on scale rows 3 and 4, so neither stripe settles it. Look at the lips: plain and pale on the Western Ribbon Snake, barred with black on the Plains Garter Snake. The ribbon snake also has a white mark right in front of the eye and a bold pale spot on top of the head, and it is far more slender, with a long tail. The Plains Garter is stockier, with a double row of black spots between the stripes.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

More comparisons

• Common Garter Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Common Ribbon Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Lined Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Checkered Garter Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Mexican Garter Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Texas Patch-nosed Snake vs. Western Ribbon Snake
• Common Garter Snake vs. Plains Garter Snake
• Lined Snake vs. Plains Garter Snake
• Western Terrestrial Garter Snake vs. Plains Garter Snake
• Checkered Garter Snake vs. Plains Garter Snake

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