Reptiles and Amphibians
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Sistrurus miliarius streckeri
Description
The western pygmy rattlesnake is small and colorful, with a slender tail and tiny rattle. Its vibrating rattle is a faint buzz that sounds like a grasshopper. In Missouri, it occurs in the eastern Ozarks and in some counties bordering Arkansas.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Agkistrodon contortrix
Description
The eastern copperhead is the most common venomous snake in Missouri. Its color varies from grayish brown to pinkish tan, with distinctive hourglass-shaped crossbands.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Heterodon platirhinos
Description
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.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Carphophis vermis
Description
The western wormsnake is a small, two-toned snake that lives in wooded areas or rocky hillsides. It is usually purplish brown above and salmon pink on the belly and lower sides. It is found statewide, except for the Mississippi Lowlands.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Diadophis punctatus arnyi
Description
Prairie ring-necked snakes are easily recognizable by their small size, uniform dark color on the back, bright yellow-orange belly, and distinct yellow ring around the neck. Secretive, but common nearly statewide.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Crotalus horridus
Description
Missouri’s largest venomous snake, the timber rattlesnake, is dangerously venomous, but there are few cases of rattlesnake bites in our state. It frequents rough country, is mostly nocturnal in summer, and few Missourians ever encounter it.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Gastrophryne carolinensis
Description
The eastern narrow-mouthed toad is a plump little amphibian that is seldom seen. There is a fold of skin behind its narrow, pointed head. It occurs in the southern half of the state.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Haldea striatula (formerly Virginia striatula)
Description
The rough earthsnake is a small, plain-looking snake of open, rocky woodlands in the Missouri Ozarks. It normally doesn’t exceed 10 inches in length.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Virginia valeriae elegans
Description
The western smooth earthsnake is a small, plain, slightly stout snake. It is generally gray, brown, or reddish brown, with few distinct markings. It occurs statewide, except for the northwestern corner.
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Tropidoclonion lineatum
Description
The lined snake looks similar to a gartersnake. It is brown to grayish brown, with three lighter-colored stripes down the length of its body and a double row of half-moon-shaped markings along the belly. It occurs mainly in the northwestern part of the state, along the northern border, with a separate population in the St. Louis area.
See Also
About Reptiles and Amphibians in Missouri
Missouri’s herptiles comprise 43 amphibians and 75 reptiles. Amphibians, including salamanders, toads, and frogs, are vertebrate animals that spend at least part of their life cycle in water. They usually have moist skin, lack scales or claws, and are ectothermal (cold-blooded), so they do not produce their own body heat the way birds and mammals do. Reptiles, including turtles, lizards, and snakes, are also vertebrates, and most are ectothermal, but unlike amphibians, reptiles have dry skin with scales, the ones with legs have claws, and they do not have to live part of their lives in water.