Kansas snakes: ID chart

Broad-banded Copperhead

Agkistrodon laticinctus

Venomous

The two forms are broadly overlapping …

Eastern Copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix

Venomous

The two forms are broadly overlapping …

Northern Cottonmouth

Agkistrodon piscivorus

Venomous

The only credible records of this species in Kansas are from the Spring River drainage in extreme …

Prairie Rattlesnake

Crotalus viridis

Venomous

The Prairie Rattlesnake is confined to the western half of the state although it is apparently absent from …

Timber Rattlesnake

Crotalus horridus

Venomous

The Timber Rattlesnake is known from the Marais des Cygnes drainage basin in Kansas and Missouri …

Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox

Venomous

Native populations approach Kansas just south of Comanche and Barber counties …

Western Massasauga

Sistrurus tergeminus

Venomous

Locally abundant throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the state, yet conspicuously absent from the …

Checkered Gartersnake

Thamnophis marcianus

Mildly venomous

The Checkered Gartersnake is found along the southern Kansas border west of the Chikaskia River …

Chihuahuan Nightsnake

Hypsiglena jani

Mildly venomous

Known from two isolated populations in the Red Hills, and is conspicuously absent from Meade and southeastern …

Common Gartersnake

Thamnophis sirtalis

Mildly venomous

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake

Heterodon platirhinos

Mildly venomous

This species is spottily distributed in the eastern half of Kansas but is rather well-documented along sandy …

Flat-headed Snake

Tantilla gracilis

Mildly venomous

Generally found east of the Flint Hills and south of the Drift Hills.

Plains Black-headed Snake

Tantilla nigriceps

Mildly venomous

Widespread in the western one-half of Kansas …

Plains Gartersnake

Thamnophis radix

Mildly venomous

Found in all but the southeastern corner of the state …

Ring-necked Snake

Diadophis punctatus

Mildly venomous

Known from the eastern third of the state …

Western Hog-nosed Snake

Heterodon nasicus

Mildly venomous

The Plains Hog-nosed Snake occurs throughout the western three-quarters of Kansas, reaching its peak …

Western Ribbonsnake

Thamnophis proximus

Mildly venomous

Widespread in the eastern third of the state south of the Kansas River and largely confined to riparian …

Western Wormsnake

Carphophis vermis

Mildly venomous

Found in the more heavily forested eastern third of Kansas …

Common Coachwhip

Masticophis flagellum

Non-venomous

The dark-headed (black) form is present along the eastern border of Kansas south of Linn County, and east of …

Common Glossy Snake

Arizona elegans

Non-venomous

The Glossy Snake is known from Kansas, south, and west of the Arkansas River valley …

Common Watersnake

Nerodia sipedon

Non-venomous

Largely confined to the riparian areas in the western half of Kansas, all the way into Colorado along the …

Dekay's Brownsnake

Storeria dekayi

Non-venomous

Known from all but the north-westernmost quarter of the state …

Diamond-backed Watersnake

Nerodia rhombifer

Non-venomous

Found commonly in farm ponds, reservoirs, and streams along the Kansas (below Manhattan), Marais des Cygnes …

Eastern Milksnake

Lampropeltis triangulum

Non-venomous

Found north and east of the Neosho River and Flint Hills in Kansas …

Gophersnake

Pituophis catenifer

Non-venomous

The Gophersnake may be expected statewide but is generally only widespread west of the Flint Hills.

Graham's Crawfish Snake

Regina grahamii

Non-venomous

This species occurs along the margins of mud-bottomed and rocky-edged marshes, oxbow lakes, rivers, and …

Great Plains Groundsnake

Sonora episcopa

Non-venomous

Known primarily from along the southern border of Kansas with most specimens coming from the southwest Osage …

Great Plains Ratsnake

Pantherophis emoryi

Non-venomous

This species occurs throughout most of Kansas, following the Arkansas, Smoky Hill, Solomon, Saline, Cimarron …

Lined Snake

Tropidoclonion lineatum

Non-venomous

This small snake has a peculiar distribution in the state, in that it is found in all but the four corners …

Long-nosed Snake

Rhinocheilus lecontei

Non-venomous

The majority of the records come from rocky areas in the High Plains and the Red Hills Prairie …

North American Racer

Coluber constrictor

Non-venomous

A true generalist, this species is found statewide …

Northern Rough Greensnake

Opheodrys aestivus

Non-venomous

Known from moderately to heavily wooded areas in southeast Kansas from the Arkansas River drainage north to …

Plain-bellied Watersnake

Nerodia erythrogaster

Non-venomous

Found in streams, rivers, and impoundments south and east of a line from Seward County in the southwest to …

Prairie Kingsnake

Lampropeltis calligaster

Non-venomous

This species occurs throughout the eastern two-thirds of Kansas and enters the southwestern quarter along the …

Red-bellied Snake

Storeria occipitomaculata

Non-venomous

This snake is currently known from records along the eastern two tiers of counties in Kansas …

Rough Earthsnake

Virginia striatula

Non-venomous

This species is known in Kansas from the extreme southern Cross Timbers, Ozark Plateau, and isolated …

Smooth Earthsnake

Virginia valeriae

Non-venomous

This small snake is known from the Marais des Cygnes and Kansas/Missouri River drainage systems in …

Smooth Greensnake

Opheodrys vernalis

Non-venomous

Isolated records are known from the eastern half of Kansas …

Speckled Kingsnake

Lampropeltis holbrooki

Non-venomous

Probably occurs statewide, though spotty in the western quarter of the state, where it is largely confined to …

Texas Threadsnake

Rena dulcis

Non-venomous

This taxon is known from the Permian Prairie and Cimarron Plains …

Western Milksnake

Lampropeltis gentilis

Non-venomous

Found throughout most of Kansas, has yet to be discovered from the sand prairies south of the Arkansas River …

Western Ratsnake

Pantherophis obsoletus

Non-venomous

Widely distributed in the more forested eastern half of the state, it is found along riparian corridors on …