Field Guide

The western slimy salamander is a black to blue-black salamander irregularly marked with silvery flecks. It occurs in the Ozark Highlands and the Lincoln Hills north of the Missouri River. True to its name, it secretes a thick substance that sticks to skin like glue.

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 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 eastern yellow-bellied racer is uniformly tan, brown, olive, blue, gray, or nearly black on top, with a yellow, cream, or light blue-gray belly. It occurs nearly statewide. The southern black racer subspecies also lives in the southeastern half of the state.

The pickerel frog is medium-sized, with square or rectangular spots in two parallel rows down the back. There is a distinct ridge of skin along each side of the back. It is absent from the northwestern third of Missouri.

The western ratsnake, a glossy black snake, is one of Missouri’s largest and most familiar snakes. Its size and dark color make it seem imposing, but it is as harmless to humans as it is bad news for rodents.