Snakes of North America: eastern and central regions

637 Pages·2003·33.882 MB·English

by  King, Richard B.;Tennant, Alan;Salmon, Gerard T

NAKE
oNfo rth America
EasatnCeder nnRt ergailo ns

oNfo rAtmhe rica
EasatneCdre nn Rtergailo ns
RevisEeddi tion
AlanT ennant
ContribAuuttihnogr s
GeraTr.dS almon
DrR.i chaBr.Kd i ng
Maps by Gerard T. Salmon
Lone Star Books
SNAKES
oNfo Armtehr ica
EasatneCdre nnR tergailo ns
Copyright© 2003 by Alan Tennant
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and
retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
Published by Lone Star Books
A Member of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Ste. 200
Lanham, MD 20706
Distributed by National Book Network
Library of Congress Control Number: 2002113489
ISBN: 1-58907-003-8 (alk. paper)
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Dedication
For the late Jozsef Laszlo,
former Curator of Herpetofauna at the San Antonio Zoo-
the most empathetic guy toward reptiles and
amphibians I've known, and the least elitist.
Without Joe's enthusiastic encouragement,
I'd never have started this two-decade-long series of
books on snakes.
Alan Tennant

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements, xix
Preface, xxv
Introduction, 1
The Evolution of Snakes, 4
Snake Venom Poisoning, 18
Venom Potency Table, 29
Species Accounts::·, 30
Bibliography, 562
Index, 593
SPECIEASC COUNTS
................................................................................................ ..................................................................................................... .............................. ..................................................... ,_
TYPHLOPIDAE
BlinSdn ake3s0,
Ramphotyphl3o0p s,
1 Brahminy Blind Snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus 31
. . . . . . . . .
SlendBelri nSdn ake3s2,
Leptotyph3l2 ops,
2 Plains Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis dulcis 33
. . . . . . . . . . .
3 New Mexico Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis dissectus 34
. . . .
4 Trans-Pecos Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops humilis segregus 36
. . .
'<Accordtiobn ogt Thh eC hicaMgaon uaolf S tyl1e4t,h e d., Sacnide ntSitfyilacen d
Forma6tt,h e d.( CouncoiflB ioloEgdyio tr)s,f amialnyd s ubfaminlaym essu cahs
LEPTOTYPHLOPIDaAnEdC OLUBRIDAsEh oubledc apitalriaztehtdeh ra int ali­
cizeYde.ti nt heh erpetolloigtiecraaltt huersteee rmasr ei talicaibzoeuadtso fteans
not-aIsh avdeo nhee re.
·············· .................. _,,,, .. .
COLUBRIDAE
SmalBlu rrowiSnnga ke3s7,
CrowneFdl,a atn,d B lack-HeaSdneadk e3s7,
Ta nti3l 7l a,
5 Southeastern Crowned Snake, Tantilla coronata 3 8
. . . . . . . . . . .
6 Peninsula Crowned Snake, Tantilla relicta relicta 40
. . . . . . . . . .
7 Central Florida Crowned Snake, Tantilla relicta neilli 41
. . . . . . .
8 Coastal Dunes Crowned Snake, Tantilla relicta pamlica 42
. . . . .
9 Rim Rock Crowned Snake, Tantilla oolitica 43
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10 Flat-headed Snake, Tantilla gracilis 45
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11 Plains Black-headed Snake, Tantilla nigriceps 47
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
12 Southwestern Black-headed Snake, Tantilla hobartsmithi 48
. . . .
13 Mexican Black-headed Snake, Tantilla atriceps 50
. . . . . . . . . . . .
14 Black-hooded Snake, Tantilla rubra cucullata 51
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Red-BelalnideB dr ownS nake5s3,
Store5r3 ia,
15 Northern Red-bellied Snake,
Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata 54
. . . . . . . . . . . .
16 Florida Red-bellied Snake,
Storeria occipitomaculata obscura 5 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17 Black Hills Red-bellied Snake,
Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae 5 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 Northern Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi dekayi 59
. . . . . . . . . . . .
19 Florida Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi victa 61
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20 Midland Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi wrightorum 62
. . . . . . . .
21 Texas Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi texana 64
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22 Marsh Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi limnetes 66
. . . . . . . . . . . .
EartShn ake6s7,
Virgi6n7 ia,
23 Eastern Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae valeria 6 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
24 Mountain Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae pulchra 69
. . . . . . . . . .
25 Western Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae elegans 71
. . . . . . . . . . . .
26 Rough Earth Snake, Virginia striatula 72
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ring-NecSkneadk e7s4,
Diadop7h4 is,
27 Southern Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus punctatus 7 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28 Northern Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii 7 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29 Key Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus acricus 78
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30 Mississippi Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus stictogenys 79
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31 Prairie Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus arnyi 81
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32 Regal Ring-necked Snake,
Diadophis punctatus regalis 82
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GrounSdn ak8e4,
Sonor84a ,
33 Ground Snake, Sonora semiannulata 84
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
WormS nake8s6,
Carphoph86i s,
34 Eastern Worm Snake, Carphophis amoenus amoenus 86
. . . . . . .
35 Midwestern Worm Snake, Carphophis amoenus helenae 88
. . . .
36 Western Worm Snake, Carphophis amoenus vermis 89
. . . . . . . .
PinWeo odsS nake9s0,
Rhadin9a0e a,
3 7 Pine Woods Snake, Rhadinaea flavilata 90
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Short-TaSinlaekde9 s2,
Stilos9o2 ma,
38 Short-tailed Snake, Stilosoma extenuatum 93
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .