A total of 14 eggs from two artificially inseminated female pine snakes were laid, from the sperm of a single male
The Memphis Zoo announced yesterday that it has successfully produced and hatched reptiles via frozen semen and artificial insemination. The zoo successfully produced viable offspring of the endangered Louisiana pine snake (Pituophis ruthveni).
The zoo’s scientists, led by Dr. Steve Reichling, Beth Roberts, Dr. Mark Sandfoss used cryopreserved semen and artificial insemination and were successful in producing three viable hatchlings from seven viable eggs. A total of 14 eggs from two artificially inseminated female pine snakes were laid, from the sperm of a single male in 2023. The females were inseminated four and five times over a 14 to 19 day period.
” Genetic analyses confirmed the donor male was the sire of hatchlings, the researchers wrote in their paper. “This is the first successful AI of an endangered snake species and provides a framework for the use and optimization of assisted reproductive technologies for use in conservation breeding programs.” The genetic testing was performed by Dr. Tonia Schwartz and graduate student Alexis Lindsey at Auburn University.
Michael Sealy, USFWS
“The emergence of these 3 hatchlings summed up 5 years of reproductive research and 30 years of Memphis Zoo’s use of cutting-edge science and dedication to save the Louisiana pinesnake from extinction,” Beth Roberts, senior reproductive scientist at Memphis Zoo said in a statement released on the zoo’s Facebook page.
“This achievement brought us one step closer to routinely integrating assisted reproductive technology into reptile conservation to preserve genetics and save species.”
Louisiana Pine Snake Information
The Louisiana pine snake spends much of its life below the forest, underground. It feeds on pocket gophers, which are also underground dwellers. They can grow to around five feet in length and are black, brown and russet in coloration. The Louisiana pine snake is only found in pine forests of Louisiana, in four parishes of Louisiana and five counties in Texas. In 2018, Pituophis ruthveni was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
