HARMLESS. The Glossy Snake is characterized by smooth scales, a single anal scale, a double row of scales on the underside of the tail, a uniform white belly, and a pattern of 39- 69 distinct dark gray or brown, black-edged blotches on its body. This snake has a smooth, glossy appearance. In addition to the blotches on the back, there are two alternating rows of dark spots on each side of the body. A dark line extends from the angle of each jaw forward through the eyes. Males have slightly longer tails than females. The tongue is entirely dark brown to black
Adults normally 68.8-90.0 cm (27-36 inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a female (FHSM 7244) from Morton County with a total length of 118.6 cm (46¼ inches) collected by Phillip Cass on 1 June 2002. The maximum length throughout the range is 141.6 cm (553⁄4 inches) (Powell et al., 2016).
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. An additional record for Rice County (KU 188571) exists, but lacks specific locality data, and therefore, is not mapped.
This species prefers open, sandy areas and reaches its peak observable abundance in the Sandsage Prairies of southwestern Kansas.
The Glossy Snake is found in dry, open, sandy areas. Little is known of its habits in Kansas, but apparently it is active from April to October. This species is primarily nocturnal, prowling for food. During the day, it retires beneath rocks or into burrows to avoid heat and predators. Platt (1985) studied the ha bi tat preference of this snake in Harvey County and found it abundant in sand prairies.
This snake mates during May, June, or July, following emergence from winter inactivity. Courtship has not been observed in Kansas. The female evidently lays a single clutch of eggs during the summer; number of eggs per clutch ranges from three to 23 eggs (Fitch, 1985), with an average of eight. The eggs hatch in two to three months.
The Glossy Snake kills its food by constriction and feeds primarily on lizards and small rodents.
Predators of this species probably include snakes, mammals, and owls (Collins, 1993).
First reported from Kansas by Taylor (1929) who listed specimens collected near Ashland (in Clark County) by Charles D. Bunker during the day (likely KU 2335), two specimens discovered at night by University of Kansas student Henry Burt while mammal trapping in Morton County, and a fourth specimen found in 1927 by members of the Biological Survey of Kansas in Stafford County. The earliest existing specimen (KU 2335) was collected near Ashland (in Clark County) on 7 June 1911.
This species is widely distributed in sandy native prairie regions of southwestern and northwestern Kansas. The recent discovery of this species along the Smoky Hill River in Gove County, coupled with its continuous distribution throughout eastern Colorado, indicates that the area between the Arkansas and Republican rivers in Kansas may yield additional records.
The type locality for Arizona elegans blanchardi (Holotype: CAS 10393) is listed [Klauber, 1946. Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist 10(17): 311-398] as Cheyenne County, Kansas, 13 miles southeast of Benkelman, Dundy County, Nebraska. This specimen was not listed in the report of specimens received from CAS and needs to be investigated as a possible additional specimen from that region.
A specimen (FHSM 439) was collected in 1963, 20 miles north, and 2 miles west of Bird City. This locality is actually just west of Benkelman, Nebraska. The state line is well marked on K 161 north of Bird City, and I am inclined to believe that the specimen was collected in Kansas, near where the South Fork Republican River enters Cheyenne County from Dundy County, Nebraska.
USNM 89239 (collected 'near Hutchinson, Reno County' by W. T. Cole during September 1932) was published (p. 159) in Cochran (1961) as a paratype of Arizona elegans blanchardi.
Greg Sievert and his students at Emporia State University collected an adult specimen under a rock in Chase County. This specimen represents a significant range extension, in what would heretofore be considered sub-marginal habitat. Subsequently, they were able to secure another adult at a nearby locality also in Chase County. No specimens from Chase County have been discovered since.
Taggart (2006) found this large species is abundant in the Sandsage Prairie and Sand Prairie areas of western Kansas. However, they are only observed active at night or in the early morning. During the evenings after exceptionally warm (> 90°F) late summer and fall days, neonates could be observed en masse as they crossed roads. Hunting is especially productive at these times and yielded the majority of the observations obtained during this study. Surprisingly, employing the same methods in the eastern Arkansas River valley failed to yield any specimens.
Platt (1985, 1998) reports that though never observably abundant during his long-term studies in Harvey County, overall observations of this species has decreased. His most recent observations were of two specimens in 1997. He did note that more specimens were collected in pasture type habitats than sand prairie, although not a statistically significant difference.
Future survey efforts are needed along the western Smoky Hill River drainage, the Arkansas River drainage east of Ford County, and the upper Neosho River drainage in Marion and Chase counties.
Burt (1935) reported on a specimen found 5 miles north of Turon on 25 May 1934. The specimen was on a road near wheat fields.
The Glossy Snake was listed as a Kansas Threatened species in 1987 and downlisted to SINC in 1993.
References
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