Kansas Snakes: Identification Guide With Pictures

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The two forms are broadly overlapping. Agkistrodon contortrix is found generally north and east of the Neosho River basin, where it is scarce and occurs in scattered populations.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The two forms are broadly overlapping. Agkistrodon contortrix is found generally north and east of the Neosho River basin, where it is scarce and occurs in scattered populations.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The only credible records of this species in Kansas are from the Spring River drainage in extreme southeastern Kansas. The Spring River roughly defines the boundary of the Ozark Plateau in Kansas.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The Prairie Rattlesnake is confined to the western half of the state although it is apparently absent from much of the Arkansas River drainage east of Ford County. A specimen (KU 2327) from "Republic County" (no specific locality) is not mapped due to its imprecise locality and the lack of corroborating specimens from adjacent Nebraska.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The Timber Rattlesnake is known from the Marais des Cygnes drainage basin in Kansas and Missouri. It enters Kansas from Oklahoma in the Cross Timbers but is conspicuously absent from the Neosho River basin.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Native populations approach Kansas just south of Comanche and Barber counties. In 2019, an adult was documented in southwest Barber County, and juvenile specimens have been recorded 3-8 miles to the south.

Venom: “DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb)” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Locally abundant throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the state, yet conspicuously absent from the Ozark Plateau and rare in the Drift Hills. Makes it into the western third of the state along the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers.

Venom: “Examples of venomous herps in Kansas are five species of the family Dipsadidae (harmless rear-fanged snakes; Carphophis vermis, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon spp., and Hypsiglena jani), several species of the family Natricidae (e.g. Thamnophis spp. [Gartersnakes]), several species of the family Colubridae (e.g. Tantilla spp. [Crowned Snakes]), and five medically significant species of the family Crotalidae” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The Checkered Gartersnake is found along the southern Kansas border west of the Chikaskia River. Cornelius Rogers captured a specimen at the edge of an irrigation ditch in a vegetable garden at Lake City, Barber County, Kansas, on June 25, 1934 (Burt, 1934).

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Known from two isolated populations in the Red Hills, and is conspicuously absent from Meade and southeastern Seward counties. This small snake is known from two disjunct populations in Kansas as follows: 1) northern Clark County in the vicinity of Clark State Fishing Lake and environs to the immediate south; and along outcroppings of the Dog Creek and Blaine formations in southeastern Comanche County, and western Barber County.

Venom: “Examples of venomous herps in Kansas are five species of the family Dipsadidae (harmless rear-fanged snakes; Carphophis vermis, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon spp., and Hypsiglena jani), several species of the family Natricidae (e.g. Thamnophis spp. [Gartersnakes]), several species of the family Colubridae (e.g. Tantilla spp. [Crowned Snakes]), and five medically significant species of the family Crotalidae” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This species is spottily distributed in the eastern half of Kansas but is rather well-documented along sandy regions (alluvial/riparian and dunes [and adjacent uplands] west of the Flint Hills. Pleistocene age fossil specimens are known from Meade, Rice, and McPherson counties.

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “Examples of venomous herps in Kansas are five species of the family Dipsadidae (harmless rear-fanged snakes; Carphophis vermis, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon spp., and Hypsiglena jani), several species of the family Natricidae (e.g. Thamnophis spp. [Gartersnakes]), several species of the family Colubridae (e.g. Tantilla spp. [Crowned Snakes]), and five medically significant species of the family Crotalidae” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Found in all but the southeastern corner of the state. Seldom encountered east of the Flint Hills or in the central portion of the Red Hills where populations become localized.

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESSLY VENOMOUS. Uses its venom to subdue prey, but is not dangerous to humans because a) they have an ineffective venom delivery mechanism, b) their mouths are too small to gain purchase, and/or c) their venom is not adapted for causing physiological damage to mammals.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The Plains Hog-nosed Snake occurs throughout the western three-quarters of Kansas, reaching its peak abundance on the High Plains. Its range extends east to the Flint Hills, with a few isolated records along the western border of the Osage Cuestas.

Venom: “Examples of venomous herps in Kansas are five species of the family Dipsadidae (harmless rear-fanged snakes; Carphophis vermis, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon spp., and Hypsiglena jani), several species of the family Natricidae (e.g. Thamnophis spp. [Gartersnakes]), several species of the family Colubridae (e.g. Tantilla spp. [Crowned Snakes]), and five medically significant species of the family Crotalidae” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Widespread in the eastern third of the state south of the Kansas River and largely confined to riparian corridors west of the Flint Hills. Border vegetation around permanent bodies of water (swamps, marshes, ponds, rivers, ditches) and along the base of nearby rock outcrops where some individuals hibernate.

Venom: “Examples of venomous herps in Kansas are five species of the family Dipsadidae (harmless rear-fanged snakes; Carphophis vermis, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon spp., and Hypsiglena jani), several species of the family Natricidae (e.g. Thamnophis spp. [Gartersnakes]), several species of the family Colubridae (e.g. Tantilla spp. [Crowned Snakes]), and five medically significant species of the family Crotalidae” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The dark-headed (black) form is present along the eastern border of Kansas south of Linn County, and east of the Arkansas River watershed. They have not been recorded from the Neosho River basin except along the Spring River/Shoal Creek in the Ozark Plateau of southeastern Cherokee County.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: The Glossy Snake is known from Kansas, south, and west of the Arkansas River valley. Isolated populations are known from Cheyenne/Rawlins, Gove/Logan, Sumner (questionable) and Chase (questionable) counties.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Largely confined to the riparian areas in the western half of Kansas, all the way into Colorado along the Arkansas and Republican rivers. In the eastern half, it is more widespread and may be commonly found around ponds and rocky streams.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Found commonly in farm ponds, reservoirs, and streams along the Kansas (below Manhattan), Marais des Cygnes, Neosho, Verdigris, and Arkansas (below Great Bend) rivers. The Diamond-backed Watersnake inhabits rivers, sloughs, ponds, backwaters, and oxbows.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This species occurs along the margins of mud-bottomed and rocky-edged marshes, oxbow lakes, rivers, and streams in areas with abundant crawfish. Few records exist for northeastern Kansas (one each from Brown and Doniphan counties), but they are substantiated by records from southeastern Nebraska and northwestern Missouri.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Known primarily from along the southern border of Kansas with most specimens coming from the southwest Osage Plains, Cross Timbers, southern Flint Hills, Red Hills, and central Smoky Hills. They are most often collected under rocks, and occasionally on the crawl (e.g. crossing roads) in rocky areas.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This species occurs throughout most of Kansas, following the Arkansas, Smoky Hill, Solomon, Saline, Cimarron, and Republican rivers. It appears to be absent of much of the rest of the High Plains, the formerly glaciated regions north of the Kansas River and east of the Flint Hills, the Wellington Lowlands, and the lower Neosho River basin.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This small snake has a peculiar distribution in the state, in that it is found in all but the four corners. Although records from Oklahoma (Sievert and Sievert, 2005) indicate that it may occur in the southwest corner of the state along the Cimarron River.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: A true generalist, this species is found statewide. The North American Racer is a snake of open grassland, pasture, and prairie areas during the summer and generally is found on rocky wooded hillsides only in spring and fall.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Found in streams, rivers, and impoundments south and east of a line from Seward County in the southwest to Doniphan County in the northeast. Isolated records are known from Saline County; additional records along the Smoky Hill and Kansas rivers are needed to determine whether the lack of specimens in this area represents a distributional gap.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This snake is currently known from records along the eastern two tiers of counties in Kansas. There is a record from Phillips County (AMNH 3380, Long Island; collected in 1884) that may represent a relictual population (see Remarks).

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This species is known in Kansas from the extreme southern Cross Timbers, Ozark Plateau, and isolated populations in Crawford and Labette counties on the Cherokee Plain. This species may ultimately be discovered in isolated populations along the entire length of the eastern Kansas border south of the Kansas River.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: This small snake is known from the Marais des Cygnes and Kansas/Missouri River drainage systems in northeastern Kansas. Found in deciduous woods, exposed rocky slopes in mixed deciduous-pine associations, grassy slopes with rocks in areas of deciduous forest, mesic hammocks, wooded areas around marshes and other damp places, rocky, sparse woods, and forest edge, old fields, vacant lots, wooded or brushy residential areas.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Isolated records are known from the eastern half of Kansas. Records from adjacent Nebraska (where this species is locally common), indicate that Smooth Greensnakes may be expected to be found in grassy ditches and waterways from the Republican River (Phillips County) to the Blue River (Marshall County).

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Probably occurs statewide, though spotty in the western quarter of the state, where it is largely confined to riparian corridors. It is especially numerous in rocky areas of the Smoky Hills, Flint Hills, and Osage Cuesta physiographic provinces, and at wetlands like Cheyenne Bottoms, Neosho Waterfowl Refuge, and Jamestown Wildlife Area.

Venom: “Harmless. A small, delicate serpent with dysfunctional eyes.” (Great Plains Nature Center (cooperative project of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and City of Wichita); published by the Friends of the Great Plains Nature Center)

Range: This taxon is known from the Permian Prairie and Cimarron Plains. Spends its entire life below ground; occasionally emerges on the ground surface after being washed out by heavy rain.

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Venom: “HARMLESS.” (Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas (Travis W. Taggart), Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University)

Range: Widely distributed in the more forested eastern half of the state, it is found along riparian corridors on the western edge of its range. They are commonly found in abandoned buildings and barns and are often the most common large snake in suburban areas.