AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
OF
BELL COUNTY

Twin Lakes Audubon Society

February 1990

Herpetology of Bell County

Bell County is divided by the Balcones Escarpment into two major vegetational regions, the Blackland Prairies in the East and the Cross Timbers and Prairies in the West. These two vegetational regions, as well as two large lakes and numerous small streams and stock ponds, provide a highly varied habitat for both amphibians and reptiles.

Because of its central position in the state, several species of herps that occur primarily in Eastern or Western Texas reach the edge of their range in Bell County. A total of seventy-two species of herps are known to occur or have occurred in the county...one alligator, two salamanders, ten species. of turtles, twelve species of lizards, fourteen species of frogs and toads, and thirty-three species of snakes. In addition, numerous species of herps occur in adjacent counties that may also occur in Bell County.

The inclusion of some of the species in this checklist is based on the county distribution maps in Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas by James L. Dixon (1987). The occurrence of the Common Musk Turtle, Mediterranean Gecko, Green Anole, Eastern Yellowbelly Racer and Prairie Ringneck Snake in the county is based on records of the Biology Department at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The following checklist was compiled by Stan Casto and Corky Johnson.

CHECKLIST

OF

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

SALAMANDERS

Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)

White Throat Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus albagula)

FROGS AND TOADS

Couch's Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii)

Cliff Chirping Frog (Syrrhophus marnockii)

Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)

Spotted Chorus Frog (Pseudacris clarkii)

Strecker's Chorus Frog (Pseudarcris streckeri streckeri)

Eastern Green Toad (Bufo debilis debilis)

Red Spotted Toad (Bufo punciatus)

Texas Toad (Bufo speciosus)

Gulf Coast Toad (Bufo valliceps valliceps)

Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo woodhouseii woodhouseii)

Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Rana berlandieri)

Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Southern Leopard Frog (Rana Sphenocephala)

Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophrryre olivacea)

TURTLES

Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon flavescens flavescens)

Mississippi Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum)

Razorback Mud Turtle (Sternotherus carinatus)

Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna)

Three-toed Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis)

Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata)

Red-eared Slider (Trachemys or Chrysemys scripta elegans)

Pallid Spiny Softshell (Trionyx spiniferas pallidas)

ALLIGATORS

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

LIZARDS

Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)

Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)

Southwestern Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus or Holbrookia texana texana)

Eastern Earless Lizard (Holbrookia maculata perspicua)

Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris collaris)

Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)

Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus)

Southern Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus consobrinus)

Short-lined Skink (Eumeces tetragrammus brevilineatus)

Ground Skink (Scincella lateralis)

Texas Spotted Whiptail (Cnemidophorus gularis gularis)

Six-lined Racerrunner (Cnewidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus)

SNAKES

Plains Blind Snake (Leptotyphlops dulcis dulcis)

Texas Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans arenicola)

Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris)

Prairie Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus arnyi)

Great Plains Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata emoryi)

Texas Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimerii)

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)

Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster)

Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida)

Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki)

Hybrids of the Desert and Speckled Kingsnakes

Louisiana Milkshake (Lampropeltis triangulum amaura)

Western Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum testaceus)

Blotched Water Snake (Nerodia or Natrix erythrogaster transversa)

Diamondback Water Snake (Nerodia or Natrix rhombifer

rhombifer)

Western Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus maialis)

Bullsnake (Pituophis melanoleucus sayi)

Texas Longnose Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus)

Texas Patchnose Snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata)

Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata semiannulata)

Texas Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi texana)

Flathead Snake (Tantilla gracilis)

Eastern Blackneck Garter Snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis cyrtopsis)

Checkered Garter Snake (Thamnophis marcianus marcianus)

Redstripe Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus)

Texas Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis annectens)

Texas Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum lineatum)

Rough Earth Snake (Virginia Striatula)

Western Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae elegans)

Texas Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius tener)

Broad-banded Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus)

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

Western Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus tregeminus)

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