HARMLESS. The Smooth Geensnake is bright green with a white to yellow, uni-colored belly.
It differs from the Northern Rough Greensnake by having smooth scales and a shorter and stouter body. Young North American Racers of similar size are blotched. Young Smooth Greensnakes resemble miniature adults.
Adults normally grow 30-50 cm (12-20 inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a male (UMMZ 67021) from Franklin County with a total length of 44.13 cm (17⅜ inches) collected by William Doudna on 22 May 1928. The maximum length throughout the range is 66 cm (26 inches) (Powell et al., 2016).
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). See the Remarks below for a discussion of the resident status of this snake since 1861.
Elsewhere, they are found from northeastern Canada, west to Saskatchewan, south through Illinois and Virginia. There are isolated populations in areas of the western United States as well, including Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Texas, and northern Mexico.
Smooth Green snakes are found in moist, grassy areas, usually in prairies, pastures, meadows, marshes, and lake edges. In areas that are heavily cultivated, they are often surprisingly abundant in grassy waterways and roadside ditches. They are most often found on the ground or climbing in low bushes. They also bask on and hide beneath rocks, logs, and other debris.
Smooth Greensnakes are active during the day from April to early October. They are always found near the ground and prefer the cover of grasses or low dense bushes along the edges of streams. They may also be found in meadows and on open brushy ridges.
Smooth Green snakes mate in the spring and late summer. Their cylindrical eggs (3-13 per clutch) are laid in shallow burrows, under rocks or logs, or in rotting vegetation from June into August. Many females will retain their eggs for much longer than other species of Kansas snakes and therefore the post-parturition incubation is often shorter (4-30 days). Females may share nest sites and the young hatch in late August to early September. They mature at two years of age.
Smooth Greensnakes feed on insects and other invertebrates.
They never attempt to bite when handled.
First reported in Kansas by Hallowell (1857) referenced two specimens on hand from Kansas that were received from Fort Riley surgeon William H. Hammond. The earliest existing specimen is (UMMZ 67021) was collected by William Doudna in Franklin County on 22 May 1928. However, MCZ R5424 and R177747 certainly predate UMMZ 67021. They were received and cataloged in a lot of eight specimens from Francis W. Cragin collected near Manhattan and did not have a collected or received date associated with them. Other specimens cataloged just prior and after Cragin's series were dated 1879 to 1881.
Cope (1860) reported two specimens (likely the same as Hallowell's) from "Kansas" collected by William A. Hammond and deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences collection.
Yarrow (1882) reported this serpent from Kansas on the basis of a specimen (USNM 5236) collected by B. F. Goss from Neosho Falls in Woodson County sometime prior to February 1861 (the specimen was subsequently identified as
Opheodrys aestivus, but cannot now be located; Addison Wynn, pers. comm.).
Branson (1904) next reported this small snake from six counties in Kansas but without specific localities or reference to specimens.
Smith (1931) and Hall and Smith (1947) reported single specimens from Riley (initially labeled as
Coluber constrictor) and Crawford counties, respectively, but their specimens cannot be located for verification. Burt and Hoyle (1935) reported a Smooth Green Snake from Chautauqua County collected by William L. Hoyle at Camp Ta-la-hi 4.5 miles southeast of Cedar Vale on 29 July 1932. No voucher exists for this report and it cannot be verified.
Collins (1974) originally considered this serpent a member of the Kansas fauna but omitted it from his second edition (1982) following the recommendation of Rundquist (1979). Rundquist (1979) did not comment on the Burt and Hoyle (1935) report from Chautauqua County.
Prior to 2011, the only fully documented Kansas specimen (UMMZ 67021), collected from the Chippewa Hills in Franklin County on 22 May 1928 by Wilbur Doudna (reported by Gloyd 1928 and considered authentic by Taylor 1929a), was not enough evidence to convince Collins to retain the species, and it was omitted from Kansas in the third edition of Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas by Collins and Collins (1993) because no further evidence of its presence in the state had come to light in the intervening 65 years.
In addition, Howard K. Gloyd, a noted Kansas herpetologist, excellent field worker, and student at Ottawa University, spent many years in Franklin County, Kansas, and never discovered this snake there, despite collecting or recording extensively on the local amphibians and reptiles.
Gloyd (1928) wrote: "Only one Kansas specimen of this beautiful little snake has been seen by the writer. This was collected in the Chippewa Hills about eight miles southwest of Ottawa, May 22, 1928, by Wilbur Doudna. It was reported from Franklin County by Branson (1904) but the specimen on which this record was based could not be found. This locality is well within the range of the species but apparently, it is rare in this region. The specimen at hand (G 707) is a male. Scale rows 15, ventrals 132, caudals 93, supralabials 7, infralabials 8, oculars 2-2, temporals 1-2, total length 465 mm., tail length 167 mm. Since the color of this specimen in life was different from that of others seen by the writer in the eastern portion of its range, a color description is here given, using the terminology of Ridgway''s Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. Top and sides of the head above labials forest green; back and upper sides of the body and tail light elm green, sides paler on second and third rows of scales, the green color ending abruptly at the middle of the second row of scales; lower three-fifths of rostral white, upper part same as the top of the head; supralabials white with a very slight trace of green on upper borders; infralabials, chin shields land gulars white; lower sides of the body (first scale row and lower half of second) pale greenish-yellow, yellow extending faintly on outer edges of ventrals and caudals; ventrals and caudals white except for slight edging of yellow laterally; anteriorly ventrals faintly washed with yellow."
Anderson (1942) reported on several specimens observed from throughout Jackson County, Missouri (adjoins Johnson County, Kansas).
On 18 September 2011, Zach Byrne and William Weeks discovered a freshly killed specimen on a county road about a half-mile south of the Nebraska border and 100 yards south of the Republican River. Minutes later a second road-killed specimen was discovered by Ryan Shofner approximately 100 yards south of the first. Both snakes were collected in Jewell County in association with the Kansas Herpetological Society Fall Field Trip (Taggart, 2011). These two specimens may indicate that the specimens from Riley County (discredited by Rundquist, 1979) may warrant additional consideration.
Blais et al (2021) examined the phylogeography of the Smooth Greensnake throughout its range (including the recent specimens available from Kansas [FHSM 16049-50] and found a east/west split over the western Great Lakes region. The Kansas samples fall out into western group. To taxonomic recommendations were made regarding the two lineages that were discovered. Previous subspecies designations (Grobman 1941) were not supported.
References
Hallowell, Edward. 1856. Notice of a collection of reptiles from Kansas and Nebraska presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences, by Doctor Hammond, U. S. A. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 8:238-253.
Cope, Edward D. 1860. Catalogue of the Colubridae in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Part 3. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 12:553-566.
Cragin, Francis W. 1880. A preliminary catalogue of Kansas reptiles and batrachians. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 7:112-123.
Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249.
Branson, Edwin B. 1904. Snakes of Kansas. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 2(13):353-430.
Gloyd, Howard K. 1928. The amphibians and reptiles of Franklin County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 31:115-141.
Taylor, Edward H. 1929. A revised checklist of the snakes of Kansas. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 19(5):53-62.
Smith, Hobart M. 1931. Additions to the herpetological fauna of Riley County, Kansas. Copeia 1931(3):143.
Burt, Charles E. and W. L. Hoyle. 1934. Additional records of the reptiles of the central prairie region of the United States. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 37:193-216.
Hurd, Myron Alec. 1936. The reptiles of Cherokee County, Kansas. Thesis. Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. 103 pp.
Brumwell, Malcolm J. 1936. Distributional records of the reptilia and amphibians of Kansas. Privately printed. 22 pp.
Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365 pp.
Grobman, Arnold B. 1941. A contribution to the knowledge of variation in Opheodrys vernalis (Harlan), with the description of a new subspecies. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (50):38.
Anderson, Paul. 1942. Amphibians and reptiles of Jackson County, Missouri. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 6(11):203-222.
Hall, Henry H. and Hobart M. Smith. 1947. Selected records of reptiles and amphibians from southeastern Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 49(4):447-454.
Smith, Hobart M. 1950. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publication (2):336.
Smith, Hobart M. 1956. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. Second edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication (9):1-356.
Gish, Charles D. 1962. The Herpetofauna of Ellis County, Kansas. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 34 pp.
Choate, Jerry R. 1967. Wildlife in the Wakarusa Watershed of Northeastern Kansas. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 46 pp.
Webb, Robert G. 1970. Reptiles of Oklahoma. Stovall Museum, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 370 pp.
Collins, Joseph T. 1974. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (1):283 pp.
Platt, Dwight R., Joseph T. Collins, and Ray E. Ashton, Jr. 1974. Rare, endangered and extirpated species in Kansas. II. Amphibians and reptiles. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 76(3):185-192.
Ashton, Ray E., Jr., Stephen R. Edwards, and George R. Pisani. 1976. Endangered and threatened amphibians and reptiles in the United States. Herpetological Circulars (5):65.
Perry, Janice. 1977. Kansas herps needed. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (18):2-3.
Curl, Richard L. 1978. Final Environmental Statement: Milford Lake Kansas operation and maintenance. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District. 158 pp.
Rundquist, Eric M. 1979. The status of Bufo debilis and Opheodrys vernalis in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 82(1):67-70.
Collins, Joseph T. 1982. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. 2nd edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (8).
Brown, Kenneth L. 1984. Pomona: A plains village variant in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 519 pp.
Secor, Stephen M. and Charles C. Carpenter. 1984. Distribution maps of Oklahoma reptiles. Oklahoma Herpetological Society Special Publication (3):1-57.
Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. 1991. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Collins, Joseph T. and Suzanne L. Collins. 1993. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Third Edition. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. 397 pp.
Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. 1998. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 1998. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 131 pp.
Walley, H. D. 2004. Liochlorophis, L. vernalis.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (776):1-13.
Taggart, Travis W. 2006. Distribution and status of Kansas herpetofauna in need of information. State Wildlife Grant T7. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. vii + 106 pp.
Collins, Joseph T., Suzanne L. Collins, and Travis W. Taggart. 2010. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles of Kansas. Eagle Mountain Publishing., Provo, Utah. 400 pp.
Taggart, Travis W. 2011. Results of the Kansas Herpetological Society 2011 Fall Field Trip to Lovewell State Park. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (39):4-5.
Shofner, Ryan M. 2011. Smooth Green Snakes (Liochlorophis vernalis) in Kansas: A history and rediscovery. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (40):8.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2012. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152 pp.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Recent scientific and standard English name changes effecting the Kansas herpetofauna. Collinsorum 3(2-4):9-10.
Rohweder, Megan R. 2015. Kansas Wildlife Action Plan. Ecological Services Section, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism in cooperation with the Kansas Biological Survey. 176 pp.
Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494 pp.
Crother, Brian I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2019. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192 pp.
Roberts, Kory G. 2020. Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019: Distributions of Amphibians and Reptiles. http://www.herpsofarkansas.com/wiki/uploads/Herp/Atlas/arherpatlas2019.pdf. 172 pp.
Daniel, Richard E. and Brian S. Edmond. 2020. Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. Privately printed, Columbia, Missouri. 86 pp.
Riedle, J. Daren. 2020. Revisiting Kansas Herpetological Society field trip and Herp Count data:
Distributional patterns and trend data of Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Collinsorum 9(1):7-16.
Blais, Brian R., Brian E. Smith, John S. Placyk, Jr., Gary S. Casper, and Garth M. Spellman. 2021. Phylogeography of the Smooth Greensnake, Opheodrys
vernalis (Squamata: Colubridae): Divergent lineages
and variable demographics in a widely distributed yet
enigmatic species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society XX:1–18.