Field Guide

A small, olive-brown salamander with a fascinating life cycle, the central newt lives in and around woodland ponds and swamps in all but our far northwestern counties.

A glacial relict in Missouri’s eastern Ozarks, the four-toed salamander lives among mosses in heavily forested streams and creeks and sinkhole ponds. It has a thick, round tail that is constricted at its base. There are four toes on each limb.

The Ozark zigzag salamander is small and slender, with a narrow, somewhat lobed back stripe that can be yellow, orange, or red. This woodland species lives in Missouri’s southwestern counties along the Arkansas border.

The cave salamander is a common amphibian of the Ozark Plateau. It lives in caves, springs, and rocky streams. Recognize it by its normally bright orange skin dotted with dark brown or black spots.

The ringed salamander is secretive, spending most of its time under logs or rocks or in burrows. The rings never completely encircle the body. It occurs in the southwestern and central Missouri Ozarks, and in the river hills of the Missouri River in eastern Missouri.

The prairie kingsnake is fairly common over most of the state. The overall color is tan, brownish gray, or greenish gray. Numerous dark blotches down the back and sides are brown, reddish, or greenish brown. It lives in prairies, open woods, and rocky, wooded hillsides, statewide.

The eastern hog-nosed snake is a nonvenomous snake that is highly variable in color and pattern. It has an upturned snout and can hiss loudly and spread its neck like a cobra. If this defense fails, the snake may thrash around, open its mouth, roll over, and play dead.

The plains hog-nosed snake has probably been extirpated from Missouri. It has a sharply upturned snout, black pigment on the underside of the tail, and was only known from the loess hill region of extreme northwest Missouri.

The Great Plains ratsnake is seldom seen. It has numerous brown blotches along the body, a brown eye stripe, and a spearhead marking on top of the head.

The western foxsnake is a moderately large snake with distinct brown blotches. In Missouri, it is rare and found only in our far northwestern counties.