Snakes Newsletter

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PleaseDon’’tKillUs,
WeAreNotCopperheads!
SnakesofAndersonCounty,Tennessee
UnǦConfusingConfusingSnakes
Photo:J.Klein
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Eventhoughweareharmless,weareoften
killedbecauseofmistakenidentity.SomeͲ
timeswearekilledjustbecauseweare
snakes.Itishardtounderstandwhyhumans
needlesslydestroyus.Wehopeimproved
educationandthefactthatmanypeople
findusfascinatingandinterestingwillhelp
ensureourfuturesurvival.ThisidentificaͲ
tionguidewillhelpyoulearnaboutsomeof
thesnakesfoundinAndersonCounty,TN.
Youwillalsoreadaboutstudentresearchers
whohavebeenstudyingsnakeslikeusfor
over20years!
The““smiling””HogǦnosed
Snakewillalertyoutofun
factsaboutsnakes!
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Tryidentifyingthefivesnakesonthis
pageandthenturnthepagetoseehow
youdid!
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UsingPatternsToIdentifySnakes
HerpetologistsͲscientistswhostudyamphibiansandreptilesͲuseacombinationoftraitstoidentifysnakes.TheylookatpatͲ
tern,color,bodyshape(includinghead),habitat,andbehavior(example,howthesnakemoves).Eventhoughpatternand
colorcanvary,theyarestillgoodcharacteristicsforhelpingyouidentifysnakes.TheimagesbelowarebodysectionsofdifferͲ
entindividualsofthesamespeciesassnakes1through5onthefrontpage.TheyarerandomlyarrangedandhavealetterbeͲ
sideeachpattern.Trytomatchthelettertothenumberofthesamespeciesonthefrontpage.Ananswerkey,includingthe
commonnameofthesnake,isprovidedatthebottomofthepage.
B
A
C
D
F
E
Itisnotuncommontohearsomeonesay““Ismellcucumbers,
theremustbeacopperheadnearby.””Mostsnakes,including
copperheads,canreleaseunpleasantodorswhendisturbed,
butwehaveneverheardherpetologistsdescribethedefensive
sprayofcopperheadsashavingacucumbersmell.Theauthors
ofthisguidehavehadtheuniqueexperienceofsmellingmany
upsetcopperheadsandcantestifytotheunpleasantnessof
theiraroma,butwouldnotdescribeitastheodorofcutcuǦ
cumbers.
AnswerKey:A:#4AdultCornsSnake,B:#2JuvenileRatsnake,C:#5JuvenileCornsnakeD:#1AdultHogͲnosedSnake,E:#3
Watersnake,F:AdultCopperhead——notonfrontpage.
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
Page3
Don’’tGetTheBigHeadWhenIdentifyingSnakes
Snakes1and3onthefrontpagehavelargeheadsbutbothareharmless.Unlessyouhavecarefullylookedatalotofsnakes,it
maybeconfusingtouseheadsizeasakeyfeatureforidentifyingvenomoussnakes.Snake1isaHogͲnosedand3isaWaterͲ
snakewhichiscommonlymistakenforaCopperheadorCottonmouth.Somesnakesreacttodangerbymakingtheirheadlook
larger,justassomepeoplerespondbystandingtallandinflatingtheirchestwhenchallengedbyanotherperson.
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1
Watersnake
1ǦHarmlessHognoseand3ǦWatersnake
HeadsizecanbemisleadingwhenitcomestoidentifyingvenͲ
omoussnakes.Markingsandcolorpatternsareoftenmore
helpfulforsnakeidentification.
TheharmlessbabyWatersnakeabovewassquashedbya
sewingmachinethrownonitafterthesnakewasdiscovͲ
eredinthebasementofahouse.Noticethedifferences
betweenthedarkmarkingsontheWatersnakeandthecopͲ
perheadsbelow.Youngcopperheadshaveayellowtailtip
whichisabsentonwatersnakesandadultcopperheads.We
wereencouragedbythepersonhavingkilledthesnake
wantingtoknowwhatkinditwasinordertoavoidmaking
thesamemistakeinthefuture.
YellowTail
VenomousAdultCopperhead
JuvenileCopperhead
BoththeadultandjuvenileCopperheadhavedark,““hourglass””shapedmarkings.Themarkingsarenarrowontopandwiden
onthesides.Markingsarevariableandthusitisimportanttolookatseveraltoinsureproperidentification,justasBotanists
lookatseveralleavesonatreetocorrectlyidentifyit.
ThepatternonthemiddlesectionoftheCopperheadatthe
rightisunusual.Thedark,hourglassmarkingsdonotconͲ
nectinthemiddleofthebackandthewideshapesonthe
sidesruntogether,formingdark,wavylinesoneachside.
Copperheadcolorpatternsaresomeofnature’’sfinestart
work,butpleaseadmirethemfromadistance!
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
WavyLine
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HarmlessMediumtoLargeSnakesInTheYardOrGarden
Threespeciesofsnakesarecommonlyreferredtoas““black””snakesinourarea.Allthreekindsoccasionallyroamaround
houseslookingforjuicyrodentstoeatorwarmplacestosunthemselves.ThebeautifulCornsnakeisalsofondofrodentsand
maybeseenaroundbarnsorsheds.Unfortunately,cornsnakesareoftenmisidentifiedascopperheadsandneedlesslydeͲ
stroyed.Pleasetakeafewmomentsandstudythecharacteristicsofthesefourspeciesofhighlybeneficialreptiles.
JuvenileBlackKingsnake
AdultBlackKingsnake
Blackkingsnakeshavesmooth,shinyblackscaleswithvaryingamountsofyellow(““chains””)acrosstheback.TheirbellyisyelͲ
lowishwithcheckerboardblackmarkings.ThesmallheadandsmoothbodyhelpsthemtrailrodentsͲtheyespeciallylikevoles
Ͳthroughundergroundtunnels.Theyalsoeatreptiles,includingothersnakes,andareimmunetothevenomofCopperheads.
ThethreespeciesonthispageandtheCornsnake,unlikewatersnakes,mayvibratetheirtailwhendisturbed.
DarkLineBehindtheEye
AdultBlackRatsnake
JuvenileBlackRat
JuvenileBlackRacer
Whitebellywithblack
checkerboardmarkings.
Blackratsnakesarethickbodiedwithvaryingamountsofwhite
betweenthescales.Inourareathecolormayrangefrommostly
blacktohavingreddishblotchingastheoneaboveshows.The
whitebellyhasdarkcheckerboardmarkingsonit.Racersare
solidblackontopwithabluishbelly.Juvenilesofbothspecies
haveablotchedpatternwhichcompletelydisappearswithage
intheracer.AdultratsnakesoftenretainevidenceoftheblotchͲ
ing.Youngratsnakeshaveadarklinebehindtheeye.
AdultRacer
Bluishbelly
BlackRacerspeedǦabout3mi/hrǦisoftenexaggerated.SomepeoǦ
pleclaimtheyhavebeenchasedbyaracer,butweknowofnoone
whohasactuallybeencaught.Theauthorshavesurprisedracers
whichinturncrawledtowardthemintheirattempttoescape.The
highlyenergeticracerwillvigorouslydefenditselfwhencornered.
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
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Cornsnakes
Juvenile
Cornsnakeshave““saddle””shapedreddishmarkings
downthebackwhichareborderedbyblack.Cornand
blackratsnakesaregoodclimbersandmayhuntintrees
orusethemasretreatorsunningsites.RacersandkingͲ
snakesaremorelikelytobeseenontheground,butwill
alsosearchforpreyinshrubsandsmalltrees.
Noticethe““spear””
shapedmarkingonthe
headoftheCornsnake.
Comparethistothesolid
copperybrownheadof
theCopperheadbelow.
Adult
Copperhead
Gartersnake
Mostgartersnakes
inourareaaredark
withthreeyellowͲ
ishstripes.They
haveabeautiful
redandblack
tongue.Snakesdo
notactuallysmell
withtheirtongue,butinsteaduseittohelptransferodorparticlesfrom
theairtoaspecial““smell””sensoryorganinthehead.
TylerandJPwithcornsnakes
Pleasecarefullystudythepatternandbodyshapedifferencesbetween
cornsnakesandcopperheads.These7thgrade
researchers(left)havejustfoundtwocorn
snakesunderplywood.TheyarecollectinglongͲ
terminformationonsnakesfoundattheUniverͲ
sityofTNForestResearchandEducationCenter.
Kidsarefascinatedbysnakesandaskgoodquestionsduringeducationprograms.Theyalso
sharestoriesaboutpeoplewho““teach””snakemythsandneedlesslykillsnakes.WehopeeducaǦ
torswillhelpcorrectflawedinformationbyincludingsnakestudiesinthecurriculum.
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
Page6
SmallHarmlessSnakesInTheYardOrGarden
Thereare20differentkindsofsnakesdocumentedfromAndersonCountyandonlytwoarevenomous.Thispagefocusesonsmallerspecies
whichmayshowupinyouryardorgarden.Allsnakesonthispageareharmlessandrarelyopentheirmouthswhenhandled,butsome,
liketheRingneck,canproduceanunpleasantodor.Theyallfeedonavarietyofinsectsandotherinvertebrates.
SmoothEarthsnake
Wormsnake
TheWormsnakeandEarthsnakearesmall,usually12inchesorless,thinsnakeswithpointy
heads.Theyarepartialtowoodlands,butmayshowupalongwoodededgesandunder
naturalandhumanmadeobjectsinandaroundyards.Wormsnakesvaryincolorfromgray
tobrownonthebackandhavepinkishbellies.Earthsnakeshavebrownbackswithscattered
blackdotsandasolidcreamtolightgraybelly.Noticethedotsinthephotoontheright,and
absenceofdotsontheWormsnake.
LightBrownCollar
RedǦbelliedSnake
RedͲbelliedandRingͲneckedsnakesaretwoofourmostlovelyreptiles.TheindiͲ
vidualaboveisintheprocessofsheddingitsskinandthusthebodycolorisdull.
Noticethelightbrowncollaronthebackoftheneck.TheRingͲneckedalsohasa
collar,butitisthecolorofgoldandmuchbrighterthantheRedͲbellied.RingͲ
neckedsnakebelliesvaryfromyellowtoorangeandusuallyhavesomeblack
markingsshapedlikehalfͲmoonsdownthemiddle.ReportsofringͲneckedsnakes
andbrownsnakes(below)beingfoundingaragesinthefallarenotuncommon.
Somemarkingsareconnectedbyaline.
Brownsnake
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
RingǦneckedSnake
Brownsnakeshavetworowsof
darkmarkingsdowneachsideof
theback.Atleastsomeofthe
markingsareconnectedbylines
acrosstheback.Brownsnakes,
alongwithEarthsnakesandRedͲ
belliedsnakesgivebirthtolive
younginsteadoflayingshelled
eggslikemostsnakes.
Brownsnakesarecommonin
someareasofAndersonCounty,
andmaybefoundundercover
objectsontheground.
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CRESOStudentResearchers
StudentswiththeClinchRiverEnvironmentalStudiesOrganization(CRESO)
havebeenstudyingsnakesinAndersonCountyforover20years.Theyhave
collecteddataonmorethan3,000snakecaptures.Thisresearchhasresulted
inseveralseniorthesesandpublications,butmoreimportantlythesekidswill
teachrespectforsnakestotheirchildren.
ElisewithnewlycapturedKingsnake
HumongousBlackRatsnakefound
bystudentsatUTArboretum
Charlotteand
Leannecollect
cloacatemperaͲ
turedataon
snakesunder
coverboards
Jesse,Ted,andAdamaftercapturingfiveracersin10minutes
BettyandSusie(SchoolAdministrativeAssistants)
photocopyingthebellypatternonakingsnakefor
longͲtermidentification
JeremyandAndyradiotrackingtogatherdataonsnakehomeranges
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
AFewCommon
SnakesSpeciesin
AndersonCounty
MythsDebunked
ǦTheFactsǦ
Family:ColubridaeͲColubrids
CarphophisamoenusͲEasternWormsnake
CemophoracoccineaͲScarletsnake
ColuberconstrictorͲNorthAmericanRacer
DiadophispunctatusͲRingͲneckedSnake
HeterodonplatirhinosͲEasternHogͲnosedSnake
LampropeltiscalligasterrhombomaculataͲMoleKingsnake
Lampropeltisgetulanigra––EasternBlackKingsnake
LampropeltistriangulumͲMilksnake
x
““BlackSnakes””andCopperheadsdo
notmatewitheachother
x
Femalesnakesdonotswallowtheir
young
x
Snakesdonotmilkcows
x
Snakes,otherthanrattlesnakes,will
vibratetheirtailwhendisturbed
x
Ofthethree““blacksnakes””,only
kingsnakesandracerswilleat
othersnakes
NerodiasipedonͲNorthernWatersnake
OpheodrysaestivusͲRoughGreensnake
PantherophisguttatusͲRedCornsnake
ResourcesforLearning
moreabout
Amphibiansand
PantherophisspiloidesͲGrayRatsnake (alsocommonlyreferredtoasBlack Ratsnake)
ReginaseptemvittataͲQueensnake
StoreriadekayiͲDeKayBrownsnake
ReptilesinTennessee
StoreriaoccipitomaculataͲRedͲbelliedSnake
TantillacoronataͲSoutheasternCrownedSnake
ThamnophissirtalisͲCommonGartersnake
VirginiavaleriaeͲSmoothEarthsnake
CrotalushorridusͲTimberRattlesnake––
MainlyRestrictedtoMountainousRegionsofAndersonCounty.
Theirnumbersappeartobedwindling.
Theratingsbelowarebasedonusingalimitednumberoftechniquesforfinding
snakesandthusmaynotreflectthetruestatusofsomespecies.
Common
FairlyCommon
TWRA
www.tn.gov/twra/nongame.html
x
THS
www.tnherpsociety.org
x
FrogHavenFarm
www.froghavenfarm.com
x
LEAPS
www.leaps.ms
x
AtlasofReptilesinTennessee
www.apsu.edu/reptatlas
x
CRESO
www.cresosnake.com
Family:ViperidaeͲVipers
AgkistrodoncontortrixͲCopperhead
x
Rare
ScientificandcommonnamesfollowCrother(2008).Nomenclatureabovethelevel
ofspeciesfollowsthatofConantandCollins(1998).
County
SnakesofAndersonCounty
AllphotostakenbyCRESOStudentsor
Staffunlessotherwisenoted.This
CRESOpublicationsupportedbythe
DepartmentofEnergy,Grant#DEͲFG05Ͳ
930R22105CRESO