MoWIN: Elk River Basin

Elk River Basin - Reptiles

Reptiles include animals like snakes, lizards, and turtles. Many turtles live in rivers where they eat insects, plants, and some small fish. Some snakes live in water where they eat frogs, insects, and small fish, and most are harmless. There is only one water snake in Missouri that is poisonous: the cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus), also known as the water moccasin. Although cottonmouths are poisonous, they should not bother you when left alone. No one has ever died from a snake bite in Missouri.

There are 14 species of turtles, 10 species of lizards, and 32 species of snakes in the Elk River Basin.

Reptile species found in the Elk River Basin

Common Name	Scientific Name	Range
Turtles
Common snapping turtle	Chelydra serpentina serpentina	Basinwide
Alligator snapping turtle	Macroclemys temminckii	Basinwide
Yellow mud turtle	Kinosternon flavescens	Basinwide
Stinkpot	Sternotherus odoratus	Basinwide
Western painted turtle	Chrysemys picta bellii	Basinwide
Map turtle	Graptemys geographica	Basinwide
Mississippi map turtle	Graptemys kohnii	Basinwide
Ouachita map turtle	Graptemys pseudogeographica ouachitensis	Basinwide
Missouri River cooter	Pseudemys concinna metteri	Basinwide
Three-toed box turtle	Terrapene carolina triunguis	Basinwide
Ornate box turtle	Terrapene ornata ornata	Basinwide
Red-eared slider	Trachemys scripta elegans	Basinwide
Midland smooth softshell	Trionyx muticus muticus	Basinwide
Western spiny softshell	Trionyx spinifer hartwegi	Basinwide
Lizards
Eastern collared lizard	Crotaphytus collaris collaris	Basinwide
Texas horned lizard	Phrynosoma cornutum	Basinwide
Northern fence lizard	Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus	Basinwide
Southern coal skink	Eumeces anthracinus pluvialis	Basinwide
Five-lined skink	Eumeces fasciatus	Basinwide
Broadhead skink	Eumeces laticeps	Basinwide
Great Plains skink	Eumeces obsoletus	Basinwide
Ground skink	Scincella lateralis	Basinwide
Prairie-lined racerunner	Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridus	Basinwide
Western slender glass lizard	Ophisaurus attenuatus attenuatus	Basinwide
Snakes
Western worm snake	Carphophis amoenus vermis	Basinwide
Eastern yellowbelly racer	Coluber constrictor flaviventris	Basinwide
Prairie ringneck snake	Diadophis punctatus arnyi	Basinwide
Great Plains rat snake	Elaphe guttata emoryi	Basinwide
Black rat snake	Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta	Basinwide
Eastern hognose snake	Heterodon platyrhinos	Basinwide
Prairie kingsnake	Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster	Basinwide
Speckled kingsnake	Lampropeltis getulus holbrooki	Basinwide
Red milk snake	Lampropeltis triangulum syspila	Basinwide
Eastern coachwhip	Masticophis flagellum flagellum	Basinwide
Blotched water snake	Nerodia erythrogaster transversa	Basinwide
Diamondback water snake	Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer	Basinwide
Midland water snake	Nerodia sipedon pleuralis	Basinwide
Rough green snake	Opheodrys aestivus	Basinwide
Bullsnake	Pituophis melanoleucas sayi	Basinwide
Graham’s crayfish snake	Regina grahamii	Western counties of the basin
Ground snake	Sonora semiannulata	Basinwide
Midland brown snake	Storeria dekayi wrightorum	Eastern counties of the basin
Texas brown snake	Storeria dekayi texana	Basinwide
Northern redbelly snake	Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata	Basinwide
Flathead snake	Tantilla gracilis	Basinwide
Western ribbon snake	Thamnophis proximus proximus	Basinwide
Eastern garter snake	Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis	Basinwide
Red-sided garter snake	Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis	Western counties of the basin
Central lined snake	Tropidoclonion lineatum annectens	Newton County
Rough earth snake	Virginia striatula	Basinwide
Western earth snake	Virginia valeriae elegans	Basinwide
Osage copperhead	Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster	Northwest counties of the basin
Southern copperhead	Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix	Basinwide
Western cottonmouth	Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma	Basinwide
Timber rattlesnake	Crotalus horridus	Basinwide
Western pygmy rattlesnake	Sistrurus miliarius streckeri	Southern counties of the basin

Source: Missouri Department of Conservation, available at http://www.conservation.mo.gov/fish/watershed/elk/biotic/010bct18.htm.

Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)

Source: http://gto.ncsa.uiuc.edu/mike/LifeTurtles/yellowmud.htm

Northern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus)

Source: http://www.biology.wustl.edu/tyson/faunareptfenc.html

Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Source: http://www.wf.net/~snake/moccasin.htm

Elk River | James River | Sac River | Spring River | North Fork Salt River

Missouri Department
of Natural Resources

Missouri Watershed Information Network (MoWIN)
Send comments to: mowin1@missouri.edu
205 Agricultural Engineering
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (573) 882-0085
Toll Free: (MO only): 1-877-H20-shed (426-7433)
Fax: (573) 884-5650

Page last updated August 26, 2008