Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

Anyone posting at this forum from Kansas ? If so what all are ya seeing this year ? This is what I've seen this year,

Caudata,
Smallmouth Salamander (A. texanum)
Central Newt (N. v. Louisianensis), both adult and eft.
Anura,
Bullfrog (R. catesbeiana)
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (A. c. blanchardi)
Northern Spring Peeper (P. c. crucifer)
Boreal Chorus Frog (P. t. maculata)
Southern Leopard Frog (R. s. utricularius)
Dwarf American Toad (B. a. charlesmithi)
Northern Crawfish Frog (R. A. circulosa)
Copes Grey Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis)
Sauria,
Five-Lined Skink (E.fasciatus)
Broadhead Skink (E. laticeps)
Great Plains Skink (E.obsoletus)
Ground Skink (S. lateralis)
Eastern Collared Lizard (C. c. collaris)
Western Slender Glass Lizard (O. a. attenuatus)
Serpentes,
Prairie Ringneck Snake (D. p. arnyi)
Red-Sided Garter Snake (T. s. parietalis)
Western Ribbon Snake (T. p. proximus)
Flathead Snake (T. gracilis)
Texas Brown Snake (S. d. texana)
Black Rat Snake (E. o. obsoleta)
Blotched Water Snake (N. e. transversa)
Northern Water Snake (N.s. sipedon)
Western Worm Snake (C. a. vermis)
Eastern Yellow Belly Racer (C. c. flaviventris)
Red Milk Snake (L. t. syspila)
Prairie King snake (L. c. calligaster)
Osage Copperhead (A. c. Phaeogaster)
Timber Rattlesnake (C. horridus)
Chelonia,
Common Musk Turtle (S. odoratus)
Western Paint Turtle (C. p. bellii)
Common Snapping Turtle (C. s. serpentina)
Three-Toed Box Turtle (T. c. triunguis)
Ornate Box Turtle (T. o. ornate)

out here in the Flint Hills ( just a little north of me ) a second season will be upon us because of the COOL weather that we are experiencing now soon to be broken. On my farm I have seen : 3 black rats, 2 prairie kings, several skinks ( five lined ), 1 garter, a couple of lined snakes. All was within the middle of last month with 1 rat snake on Sunday out in the open. All others have been under my AC of metal roofing sheets and cardboard. While I don't have milks, bulls, and other species here where I live, just 3 miles up the road they are found in the more rocky habitat.

in my evaporation lagoon, bull frogs, leopard frogs and western painted turtles. My outdoor hibernated box turtles have came out very slowly so i should start seeing wild ones soon.

Here are is my species list so far, off the top of my head:
Plains Leopard Frog
Southern Leopard Frog
Cricket Frog
Chorus Frog
Plains Narrowmouth Toad
American Toad
Woodhouse's Toad
Great Plains Toad

Smallmouth Salamander
Barred Tiger Salamander
Central Newt
Spotted Salamander

Common Snapping Turtle
Red-eared Slider
Painted Turtle
Spiny Soft-shell Turtle
River Cooter
Ornate Box Turtle

Eastern Collard Lizard
Texas Horned Lizard
Prairie Lizard
Five-lined Skink
Great Plains Skink
Northern Prairie Skink
Ground Skink
Prairie Racerunner
Italian Wall Lizard
Western Slender Glass Lizard

Western Wormsnake
Prairie Ringneck Snake
Flathead Snake
Plains Blackhead Snake
Eastern Yellowbelly Racer
Great Plains Rat Snake
Black Rat Snake
Prairie Kingsnake
Speckled Kingsnake
Central Plains Milk Snake
Red Milk Snake
Bullsnake
Plainbelly Water Snake
Northern Water Snake
Diamondback Water Snake
Brown Snake
Western Ribbon Snake
Plains Garter Snake
Common Garter Snake
Lined Snake
Rough Earth Snake
Smooth Earth Snake

Western Massasauga- 3
Timber Rattlesnake- 15
Prairie Rattlesnake- 11
Osage Copperhead- 2

Hopefully it will grow...

Nice list so far, I have done almost all my herping in my home county, Bourbon county, you've seen Central Newts also you must be pretty close to where I'm at. Are the Spotted Salamanders you've seen Ambystoma maculatum ? I've never heard of them being in Kansas, that would be a good range extension on them if you could collect a few and turn them in to Travis W. Taggart, Associate Curator of Herpetology, Herpetology Collections Manager, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays,Kansas, Curtis J. Schmidt, Associate Curator of Herpetology, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays,Kansas and/or Joe Collins, The Center for North American Herpetology, Lawrence,Kansas. They are heading a 2 year project to identify new localities, this is the last year of the project, there web site is http://www.smoky-hills.com/kansas/
mchambers, not sure about the second year thing, but the cool nights and sunny mornings have been producing lots of stuff under rocks here, I love Kansas this time of year.

Happy herping,
Derek Welch

said second season. Meaning with my past years of observation the reptiles started early this year compared to past years ( how many years past ? Can't really say )and the brunt of observations are normally just upon us where as they have already been. But to my point again, with this cool weather pattern, the height of observation will be extended with that window before the warm weather sets in. With the Kansas post of finding herps already, this normally doesn't happen until May with many observations in which has been documented although most of the field guides do in fact say April weather permitting < my docu of numerous years of past. Of course these are my opinions and observations. The bad news is that most of Kansas is suppose to be heading for one heck of a drought this year and the drought years has a way of producing some species of animals early on. We of east cental Kansas are now 5 inches behind in rainfall.

Derek...

Thanks for telling me about the project that I work with and the people that I work under,lol. When I got your email, it did not dawn on me that you were talking about me as the guy who claimed to have found all of this stuff, lol! I did not find the Spotteds in Kansas, they were found in Missouri and so were the newts.

The Timbers I found were in an area where very few copperheads have ever been found. Six of the Timbers were found while accopanied by Joe and Suzanne Collins and Jill and John Locke. We also found around 8 Red Milk Snakes that day. There is no doubt that Osage Copperheads are far more numerous than Timber Rattlesnakes.
Later Derek...

Chad

Greatfuldead chad LOL, When are ya comming out this way.

Derek Welch

That seems like a lot of timbers for so few copperheads; it has always been the opposite for me the few times I have been looking for them. Is this an unusual year, or do you always find them in that ratio? Does anyone ever see western hognose anymore?

Yeah I'm with you on the copperhead vs Timber ratio, seems like 100 to 1 the Osage Copperhead is common in my neck of the woods. I have yet to find a Hognose snake but they can still be found in Kansas, here is a link showing what county some have been seen in last year,

Western Hognose,

http://www.smoky-hills.com/kansas/index.asp?page=species&species_id=393-964&dots=yes&tributaries=yes&isAnura=

Eastern Hognose,

http://www.smoky-hills.com/kansas/index.asp?page=species&species_id=393-995&dots=yes&tributaries=yes&isAnura=

Happy herping,
Derek Welch

Derek,

From KS and MO so far (at least one specimen of all but a few of these seen in KS this year):

Species I track numbers found:
Red milk (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila)
Prairie king (Lampropeltis c. calligaster)
Speckled king (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki)
(and speckled/desert intergrade)
Osage copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster)
Timber rattlesnake (Crotulus horridus)
Black rat snake (Elaphe/Pantherophis o. obsoleta)
Great plains rat (Elaphe guttata emoryi)
Bull snake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)
Northern water (Nerodia s. sipedon)
Blotched water (Nerodia erythrogaster transversa)
Smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae elegans)
Rough earth snake (Virginia striatula)
Flathead snake (Tantilla gracilis)
Collared lizard (Crotaphytus c. collaris)
Western slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus a. attenuatus)
Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma t. tigrinum) (DOR)
Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris)

High volumers:
Yellow-bellied racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris)
Prairie ringneck (Diadophis punctatus arnyi)
Texas brown snake (Storeria dekayi texana)
Red-sided garter (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)
Western worm snake (Carphophis vermis)
Great plains skink (Eumeces obsoletus)
Five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus)
Chorus frog (Pseudacris t. triseriata)
Cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
Southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala)
Plains leopard frog (Rana blairi)
Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Central newt

Generally uncounted species:
Ribbon snake (Thamnophis p. proximus)
Lined snake (Tropidoclonian lineatum)
Prairie racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis)
Fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus)
Ground skink (Scincella lateralis)
Ornate box turtle (Terrapene o. ornata)
Three toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis)
Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta belli)
Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Common snapping turtle (Chelydra s. serpentina)
G.P. narrowmouth toad (Gastrophryne olivacea)
American toad (Bufo a. americanus)

This should expand this week in central KS. Hopefully we'll get some good rain in the next couple of weeks as it becomes more important in May.