THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Dipsadidae  

Northern Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira septentrionalis (Kennicott, in Baird, 1859)

Current SSAR Comments:
Following the mtDNa-based phylogeny in Daza et al. (2009, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53: 653–657), including the unique color pattern of the taxon, Wallach et al. (2014, Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida) and Barrio-Amorós (2019, Reptiles & Amphibians 26: 1–15) consider L. septentrionalis to be restricted to its former subspecific concept in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.09.21.41.44)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.34 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Little Brown Bead Snake (Coluber annulatus: Morse, Jedidiah. 1794. The American Geography of, a view of the Present Situation of the United State of America. John Stockdale, Piccadilly, London. pp.); Ringed Snake (Sibon Annulatum septentrionale: 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); Northern Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira septentrionalis: 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. 365pp.); Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira annulata: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Texas Cate-eyed Snake (Leptodeira annulata septentrionalis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1859 Baird, Spencer F. Reptiles of the Boundary, in: Volume 2, pt. 2 United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, U.S. 34th Congress, 1st Session, Executive Document 108. 1-35pp.
2009 Daza, Juan M., Eric N. Smith, vivian P. Paez, and Christopher L. Parkinson. Complex evolution in the Neotropics: The origin and diversification of the widespread genus Leptodeira (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53(2009):653–667
2014 Wallach, Van, Kenneth L. Williams, and Jeff Boundy. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. pp.
2019 Barrio-Amorós, César L. On the taxonomy of snakes in the genus Leptodeira, with an emphasis on Costa Rican species. Reptiles & Amphibians 26(1):1–15

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:40 CT