CLASS       REPTILIA

  Alligator Snapping Turtle                                                                   Macrochelys temminckii

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  T               G3G4            S2                   G3                        S2

    G-Trend        Decreasing

    G-Trend        The alligator snapping turtle inhabits river systems draining into Gulf of

    Comment      Mexico in the south-central U.S. and ranges northward in the Mississippi River

                           system into western Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa (Conant and

                          Collins 1991).  This turtle has been reported from specific, mappable localities

                          in only 6 Kentucky counties (Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Livingston,

                          and McCracken) but likely occurs in low numbers in and along the Mississippi,

                           lower Ohio, and lower Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers including Kentucky

                          Lake and Lake Barkley (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State

                           Nature Preserves Commission Database 2004).  Some reported occurrences

                          (i.e., those in Breckinridge and Knox counties) have been based on the recovery

                          of large captive specimens that had been released; others (i.e., the "Monster of

                          Maple Lake") are based on media reports and require some sort of

                          substantiation before they can be accepted.

    S-Trend         Unknown

    S-Trend         The alligator snapping turtle is thought to be rare and declining throughout its

    Comment      range, but this species is so difficult to sample that very little recent

                          population/abundance data is available.  No population information is available

                          for Kentucky.  An ongoing graduate student project to sample for alligator

                          snappers in the western part of the state was funded by Kentucky Department

                          of Fish and Wildlife Resources but none have thus far been captured.  Recent

                          records (1984-2004) in Kentucky are available from 4 counties (Ballard,

                          Livingston, Caldwell, and Calloway) (Kentucky State Nature Preserves

                          Commission Database 2004, J.R. MacGregor Data).  Dams, commercial harvest

                           for human consumption, and general habitat degradation have adversely

                          impacted this species throughout its range (NatureServe 2004).

    Habitat /        Habitat characteristics for this turtle in Kentucky are largely unknown.  The

    Life History  Laketon specimen was found in a cypress slough along the Mississippi River

                          floodplain, the Princeton specimen was dug from a large urban spring that is the

                           head of a tributary flowing into Lake Barkley, the Blood River juvenile was

                          found in a tire rut after a flood event, the Panther Creek animal was found dead

                          after having been hooked on an abandoned limb line, and the Paducah specimen

                          was found at a water intake plant.  Locality data is a bit vague for 1-2

                          specimens that have been captured by fishermen along the lower Tennessee

                          River in Livingston County.  There are a few old literature records and one

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Alligator Snapping Turtle                                                                   Macrochelys temminckii

                          recent record from the Ohio River (Ballard County).  The species can be said to

                          have occurred in habitats ranging from headwater springs and tire ruts to large

                          rivers, but we still have little or no idea how or where to search for it in

                          Kentucky.

    Key               Habitat condition is completely UNKNOWN as no key habitat locations have

    Habitat          been identified for this species in Kentucky.

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, running water,

                          standing water.

  Alligator Snapping Turtle                                                                   Macrochelys temminckii

  Conservation Issues

         Aquatic habitat degradation

              2C     Construction/Operation of impoundments (migration barrier).  Dams (loss

                        of natural river channel character).

              2E      Stream channelization/ditching.  Loss of oxbows, sloughs, braided channels.

              2H     Wetland loss/drainage/alteration .  Loss of natural and man made wetlands

                        and loss of herbaceous vegetation in ponds/sloughs.

         Biological/ consumptive uses

              5B      Predation from native species.  Nest predation (skunks, raccoons, foxes,

                        coyotes, etc.).

              5F      Low population densities

              5H     Isolated populations (low gene flow)

              5I       Commercial collecting for pet trade (overharvest).  Commercial collection

                        (human food, pet trade).

              5J       Incidental mortality due to commercial fishing/musseling (mortality and

                        overharvest).  Commercial fishing (trot lines et al). Fishing (troutline, limb

                        lines, bank lines).

              5K     Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting, or breeding.  Reforestation of

                         open sandy soil areas near ponds (loss of suitable nesting habitat).

              5P      Market hunting for human consumption.  Commercial collection (human

                        food, pet trade).

         Siltation and increased turbidity

              1B      Agriculture.  Extensive agricultural development along waterways.

         Terrestrial habitat degradation

              3F      Urban/residential development

              3R      Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation

              3T      Suppression of disturbance regimes.  Reforestation of open sandy soil areas

                         near ponds (loss of suitable nesting habitat).

              3U     Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique microhabitats

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Broad-banded Water Snake                                                          Nerodia fasciata confluens

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  E               G5T5             S1                   G5                        S1

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        Gulf Coast region and Mississippi River drainage from Texas and Louisiana

    Comment      northward to extreme southeastern Missouri, extreme southern Illinois, and the

                          western tip of Kentucky (Conant and Collins 1991) known in Kentucky only

                          from Fish Lake and from the vicinity of Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge in

                          Fulton County (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature

                           Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Known historically and recently from the lowlands of southwestern Fulton

    Comment      County (Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission 2004, J.R. MacGregor

                          2004, W. Bird and P. Peak, pers. obs.); listed here as declining due to heavy

                          past and recent impacts associated with agricultural development in the

                          bottoms located north of Reelfoot Lake.

    Habitat /        Usually found in sloughs, sluggish streams, bayous, oxbows, and other slow-

    Life History  moving or standing water habitats; often found in areas that are at least partly

                          wooded (Wright and Wright 1957, J.R. MacGregor data).   Also reported in the

                          literature from marshes and wet prairies (Ernst and Ernst 2003); several adults

                          have been found in open wet meadow habitats in Kentucky both at Reelfoot

                          National Wildlife Refuge (B. Palmer-Ball, Jr., pers. comm.) and at Fish Lake

                          (W. Bird and P. Peak, pers. comm.).  Often occurs in clear water areas with

                          some emergent or aquatic vegetation and mud bottoms.  Although past

                          population data is generally lacking for this species in Kentucky, the author

                          (J.R. MacGregor) believes that the broad-banded water snake has declined in far

                           western Kentucky as a result of heavy past/recent impacts associated with

                          agricultural development in the bottoms located north of Reelfoot Lake.  Key

                          habitat loss factors here have included wetland drainage and sedimentation,

                          channelization, tree cutting/removal and land conversion (J.R. MacGregor, pers.

                           obs.).

    Key               Habitat condition is FAIR at best, although the habitat within Reelfoot National

    Habitat          Wildlife Refuge has to be considered as GOOD (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.). 

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Fulton County

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Broad-banded Water Snake                                                          Nerodia fasciata confluens

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water.

  Coal Skink                                                                                               Eumeces anthracinus

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  T                 G5               S2                   G5                        S2

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The species occurs over a relatively large area that extends from eastern Texas,

    Comment      Oklahoma , and Kansas eastward into northern Florida and northward into New

                           York; the range is quite fragmented toward the east and northeast (Conant and

                          Collins 1991).  In our state, the coal skink is known from scattered locations in

                          16 counties; most records are from eastern Kentucky, but an isolated

                          population once occurred (and still may occur) in the Mammoth Cave area

                          (Edmonson County) and an extant population is present in the Jackson

                          Purchase in southeastern Calloway County (Kentucky Herpetology Database

                          2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         The coal skink is probably declining in Kentucky; recent records (1984-2004)

    Comment      are available from only 9 counties (Calloway, McCreary, Whitley, Laurel, Clay,

                           Rockcastle, Madison, Garrard, and Greenup) (Kentucky State Nature Preserve

                          Commission 2004, East Kentucky Power Cooperative data, J.R. MacGregor

                          data).  Coal skinks occur in fair numbers in abandoned gravel pits and other

                          open habitats in Calloway County, in sunny open shale oak-pine woods in and

                          around Berea College Forest, and along open powerline and roadside rights-of-

                          way in McCreary, Whitley, and Laurel counties in southeastern Kentucky. 

                          Elsewhere, most records are for single animals that were found a number of

                          years ago, and many colonies have likely been extirpated (J.R. MacGregor

                          data).

    Habitat /        Coal skinks occur primarily in fairly dry rocky open woodlands, remnant glades

    Life History  and prairies, old quarries and gravel pits, rocky fields, and utility line corridors

                          with some bare ground and scattered areas of cover including rocks, sunny

                          outcrops, old railroad ties, and/or discarded tree limbs and general household

                          rubbish.  Although some of the literature indicates that coal skinks are most

                          often found in mesic habitats, nearly all Kentucky sites are quite dry and open

                          (as are those in West Virginia and several other eastern states).

    Key               For this species, habitat condition here is generally POOR. 

    Habitat         

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Calloway County

                          2. McCreary County

                          3. Madison County

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Coal Skink                                                                                               Eumeces anthracinus

    Guilds           grassland/agricultural, savanna/ shrub-scrub, upland forest.

  Copperbelly Watersnake                                                        Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                          PS:LT              S               G5T2             S3                   G2                        S3

                                                                     T3

    G-Trend        Decreasing

    G-Trend        Southeastern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and western Kentucky northward

    Comment      in isolated colonies to northwestern Ohio, northeastern Indiana, and adjacent

                          southern Michigan; intergrades westward with additional subspecies (Conant

                          and Collins 1991).  Known from a total of 16 counties in Kentucky (Kentucky

                          State Nature Preserves Commission 2004, Kentucky Herpetology Database

                          2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Recent and extant populations (1984-2004) occur in 15 counties located within

    Comment      and adjacent to the Western Coal Field (Livingston County to Hancock

                          County); also known historically from wetland habitats in southwestern

                          Jefferson County (Louisville) but probably extirpated there (Kentucky

                          Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission

                          2004).

    Habitat /        Less aquatic than other Kentucky Nerodia; tends to be more common in

    Life History  bottomland forest and tannic seasonally flooded pools but also found regularly

                          in sloughs, sluggish stream margins, bayous, oxbows, and other slow-moving or

                          standing water habitats.  The copperbelly watersnake generally prefers areas

                          that are at least partly wooded, and prefers clear water areas with some

                          emergent or aquatic vegetation and mud bottoms (Ernst and Ernst 2003) and

                          sometimes occurs in low to moderate numbers in man-made lakes and ponds

                          (J.R. MacGregor data).  Often associated with buttonbush ponds and isolated

                          woodland pools with good populations of breeding salamanders and frogs and

                          with water that becomes stained with tannin (Wright and Wright 1957).  Gravid

                           females often use highway and railroad fill slopes and other open upland

                          habitat basking sites.  Generally (but not always) requires adjacent upland

                          habitat with suitable rock crevices, mammal burrows, or old root channels for

                          winter hibernation but may also use crayfish or muskrat holes and spend at

                          least part of the winter submerged (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).

    Key               Habitat condition is only FAIR overall. 

    Habitat           

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Henderson County

                          2. Daviess and Hancock counties

                          3. Hopkins County

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Copperbelly Watersnake                                                        Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water.

  Corn Snake                                                                                           Elaphe guttata guttata

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  S               G5T5             S3                   G5                        S3

    G-Trend        Stable

    G-Trend        Southeastern U.S., ranging northward into Tennessee, Virginia, DelMarVa

    Comment      Peninsula, and New Jersey with isolated colonies in central and eastern

                          Kentucky (Conant and Collins 1991).  Known to occur in 5 counties in west-

                          central Kentucky (Barren, Edmonson, Hart, Grayson, and Hardin) and 4

                          counties in eastern Kentucky (Powell, Wolfe, Menifee, and Morgan) (Kentucky

                           Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

                          Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         The corn snake in Kentucky is somewhat of an enigma.  Populations in west-

    Comment      central Kentucky seem to be doing quite well; Bird and Peak (pers. comm.)

                          found nearly 60 corn snakes in Hart County during the 2003 field season, and

                          an ongoing field study at Mammoth Cave National Park in Edmonson County

                          yielded 25 or more corn snakes during the 2004 field season (J.R. MacGregor

                          data).  The eastern Kentucky population, on the other hand, appears to have

                          declined greatly since the early 1980’s; it has all but disappeared from the Red

                          River Gorge area (Daniel Boone National Forest) and Natural Bridge State

                          Resort Park where very few have been found there during the past 20 years

                          despite much searching (J.R. MacGregor, U.S. Forest Service, and Kentucky

                          State Nature Preserves Commission data).  At the present time there are recent

                          (1984-2004) records from 8 counties.

    Habitat /        Terrestrial and at least partly fossorial; occurs in/near sparsely to moderately

    Life History  dense forested uplands dominated by oak and/or pine with well-drained sandy

                          or loamy soils.  Sites offering a mix of prairie patches and forest stands with

                          numerous to scattered grassy or weedy openings seem to be preferred.  The

                          corn snake probably does best in fire-maintained and fire-managed habitats; it

                          also does well in farm country where cropland and pasture alternate with large

                          chunks of native forest.  Most of the corn snakes in the Red River

                          Gorge/Natural Bridge area that were found during the 1960’s and 1970’s were in

                           and around old farmsteads and pastures in the bottomlands along the Red River

                           and its major tributaries.  Nearly all of these sites have subsequently been

                          purchased by the U.S. Forest Service and have either been converted into visitor

                           facilities or allowed to revert to young second-growth forest.  It is quite likely

                          that natural succession is one of the factors responsible for the decline of the

                          corn snake in this section of eastern Kentucky (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs). 

                          Throughout its range, the corn snake is noted for being less arboreal than the

                          members of the black rat snake complex and for favoring habitats like brushy

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Corn Snake                                                                                           Elaphe guttata guttata

                          fields, glades and prairie remnants, scrublands, pine barrens, roadsides, open

                          forests, and various types of outbuildings (Ernst and Ernst 2003, Wright and

                          Wright 1957).

    Key               Habitat condition is overall GOOD in west-central Kentucky in upland areas

    Habitat          but is POOR in eastern Kentucky where much formerly open habitat appears

                          to have reverted to closed-canopy forest (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.). 

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Edmonson County

                          2. Hart County

    Guilds           grassland/agricultural, savanna/ shrub-scrub, upland forest.

  Diamondback Water Snake                                                       Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                 N               G5T5             S5                   G5                        S5

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        South-central U.S. from Texas to Alabama, northward into Kansas, Missouri,

    Comment      Iowa, Illinois, southwest Indiana, and western Kentucky (Conant and Collins

                          1991).  Currently known from 17 counties in the Jackson Purchase, Land

                          Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, and the Western Coal Field

                          (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Unknown

    S-Trend         Apparently stable in the Jackson Purchase, but populations have been

    Comment      fragmented by impacts associated with mining and agriculture in the Western

                          Coal Field (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).  This species is not tracked by

                          Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.

    Habitat /        Usually found in sloughs, sluggish streams, bayous, oxbows, and other slow-

    Life History  moving or standing water habitats; also associated frequently with river

                          backwaters and the lower sections of tributary streams.  Diamondback water

                          snakes prefer areas that are at least partly wooded and are well-supplied with

                          logjams, fallen trees, and similar basking sites that overhang deep water.  They

                          have also been found in low numbers in some reservoir backwater coves - and

                          upland ponds - in the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area (J.R.

                          MacGregor, pers. obs.).

    Key               Habitat condition is GOOD in the wetlands that border the Mississippi River

    Habitat          and portions of the lower Ohio River, and in the wetland complexes that have

                          redeveloped in the Jackson Purchase along some of the larger stream systems

                          (Bayou du Chein, Obion Creek, Mayfield Creek); only FAIR to POOR in most

                           of the Western Coal Field (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Fulton County

                          2. Ballard County

                          3. Carlisle County

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, running water,

                          standing water.

  Diamondback Water Snake                                                       Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer

  Conservation Issues

         Aquatic habitat degradation

              2E      Stream channelization/ditching

              2H     Wetland loss/drainage/alteration .  Loss of wetland connectivity, wetland

                        drainage/conversion and surface mining in wetlands.

         Miscellaneous Mortality Factors

              6A     Traffic/road kills

              6F      Wanton shooting/killing and unregulated take.  Shooting (mostly from

                        bridges) and wanton killing.

         Terrestrial habitat degradation

              3F      Urban/residential development

              3K     Surface mining.  Surface mining in wetlands, fragmentation and water

              3R      Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation.  Surface mining fragmentation of

                        habitat and water quality.

              3U     Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique microhabitats

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Eastern Coachwhip                                                               Masticophis flagellum flagellum

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                 X               G5T5            SX                  G5                        N

    G-Trend        Decreasing

    G-Trend        Southeastern U.S., northward to southeastern North Carolina and southwestern

    Comment      Tennessee; also occurs west of the Mississippi River lowlands from Louisiana

                           and Texas northward to Missouri (Conant and Collins 1991).  Reported from 4

                           Kentucky counties (Barren, Edmonson, Hart, and Pulaski) but all of the

                          records are suspect; it is the opinion of J.R. MacGregor that the eastern

                          coachwhip is not native to the state and that the specimens reported were

                          escaped or released captives.

    S-Trend         Unknown

    S-Trend         Apparently declining at least in some areas rangewide due to habitat loss

    Comment      (succession, development, conversion of native habitat to agriculture or

                          plantation forestry, fire suppression, etc.) and direct mortality (i.e., entrapment

                           in plastic erosion control netting, highway mortality, mowing) (NatureServe

                          2004).  Probably an introduced species in Kentucky but apparently now

                          extirpated; last documented in the 1960’s near the site of the Kentucky Reptile

                          Gardens (a roadside reptile zoo that closed for good in the early 1970’s).  This

                          species is not tracked by Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.

    Habitat /        If native, the eastern coachwhip would likely have occurred only in the area

    Life History  formerly known as “The Barrens”  - a region of native prairie that occupied the

                          northern and western sections of the Mississippian Plateau and most upland

                          section of the Jackson Purchase prior to human settlement (Mengel 1965). 

                          Several native reptiles and amphibians including the prairie kingsnake, six-lined

                          racerunner, and (to some degree) western slender glass lizard, northern crawfish

                          frog, and eastern narrowmouth toad have ranges that appear to reflect the

                          original native prairie regions of Kentucky (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).  The

                          eastern coachwhip probably would have done best in fire-maintained and fire-

                          managed habitats.

    Key               Habitat condition overall is POOR.

    Habitat         

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          None identified - probably introduced; now apparently extirpated

    Guilds           grassland/agricultural, savanna/ shrub-scrub.

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Eastern Coachwhip                                                               Masticophis flagellum flagellum

  Eastern Mud Turtle                                                                            Kinosternon subrubrum

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                 N                 G5            S3S4                 G5                        S3

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The mud turtle has a widespread distribution in the southeastern U.S. with a

    Comment      range that extends northward into Illinois in the midwest and New Jersey and

                          Long Island in the northeast (Conant and Collins 1991).  This species has been

                          recorded from about 20 Kentucky counties in the Jackson Purchase, Land

                          Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, and Mississippian Plateau and a

                          single county (Union) in the western Coal Field (Kentucky Herpetology

                          Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Population trends for the mud turtle are unknown rangewide, but this species is

    Comment      almost certainly declining in Kentucky.  The mud turtle has a spotty and

                          discontinuous range in the state, and the habitat has been heavily impacted

                          and/or fragmented by agriculture and mineral extraction.  Some decent colonies

                          occur in the Jackson Purchase region (Reelfoot Lake area, Obion Wildlife

                          Management Area, Ballard Wildlife Management Area, and Bypass Road);

                          elsewhere in western Kentucky the species is rare.  Mud turtle populations that

                           once inhabited the sinkhole ponds and upland swamps of central Kentucky are

                          probably on the verge of extirpation since much of the habitat there has been

                          eliminated by the plow and tractor and by impacts associated with oil

                          extraction.  Recent (1984-2004) records exist for 13 of the 20 mud turtle

                          counties in Kentucky; this figure may be misleadingly high since most of these

                          counties have yielded only single observations.  The mud turtle is not tracked

                          by Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.

    Habitat /        The mud turtle is associated with wetland habitats throughout its range in

    Life History  Kentucky.  In the western part of the state, west of Dawson Springs, it is/was

                          most common in areas with extensive shallow swamps and abundant emergent

                          vegetation adjacent to wet meadows and bottomland hardwood forest.  Further

                          east, in the Mississippian Plateau region of central and southern Kentucky,

                          mud turtles are still present but becoming rare in permanent and/or seasonal

                          shallow sinkhole swamps.

    Key               Habitat condition is generally POOR, but there are a few good areas left, most

    Habitat          of which (Reelfoot Lake area, Obion Wildlife Management Area, Ballard

                          Wildlife Management Area, and Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge/Bypass

                          Road) are located in the Jackson Purchase region.

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Eastern Mud Turtle                                                                            Kinosternon subrubrum

                          1. McCracken County and Marshall County

                          2. Ballard County

                          3. Fulton County

                          4. Hickman County

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water.

  Eastern Ribbon Snake                                                              Thamnophis sauritus sauritus

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  S               G5T5             S3                   G5                        S3

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        Widespread in eastern, southeastern, and central U.S. from New England south

    Comment      to Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; northward on the east side of the

                          Mississippi River lowlands to southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, and

                          western Kentucky with scattered colonies elsewhere (Conant and Collins

                          1991).  Scattered in wetland habitats with records from 20 counties in the

                          western half of Kentucky; also known historically from lowland swamps along

                          the Licking River (locations now submerged under Cave Run Lake) (Kentucky

                          Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

                          Database 2004, C.H. Ernst, pers. comm.).

    S-Trend         Unknown

    S-Trend         Rangewide and state population trends are unknown, but several herpetologists

    Comment      have mentioned that eastern ribbon snakes seem to be in decline in some parts

                          of their range.  There are recent records from 16 Kentucky counties (Kentucky

                          State Nature Preserve Commission 2004).

    Habitat /        Eastern ribbon snakes are usually associated with wetland habitats that harbor

    Life History  good populations of prey species including amphibians, mosquito fish

                          (Gambusia), and/or topminnows (Fundulus).  These snakes typically inhabit

                          wet meadows and sunny openings with low herbaceous vegetation along the

                          margins of sloughs, sluggish streams, bayous, oxbows, and other slow-moving

                          or standing water habitats.  Some individuals - particularly gravid females -

                          regularly climb up into shrubs such as buttonbush or willow in search of

                          basking sites.  Eastern ribbon snakes are sometimes present in large numbers on

                          grassy dikes and highway/railroad fill slopes bordered by shallow wetlands;

                          they are especially abundant on the water control structures that form the moist

                           soil management units at Sloughs Wildlife Management Area in Henderson

                          County.  Mammal and crayfish burrows are often used both as hiding retreats

                          from predators and as sites for winter hibernation (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).

                           Although eastern ribbon snakes are associated primarily with riparian wetland

                          habitat complexes in western Kentucky (Jackson Purchase, Land Between The

                          Lakes National Recreation Area, Western Coal Field) and (formerly) along the

                          Licking River near Morehead, the isolated populations that have been found on

                          the Mississippian Plateau in Hardin, Larue, and southern Logan counties occur

                          in and around isolated shallow sinkhole swamps in Karst terrain (J.R.

                          MacGregor, pers. obs.).

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Eastern Ribbon Snake                                                              Thamnophis sauritus sauritus

    Key               Habitat condition is FAIR overall; several large tracts of GOOD habitat occur in

    Habitat          a few areas (Sloughs Wildlife Management Area in Henderson/Union counties,

                          Terrapin Creek in Graves/Calloway counties, and portions of Obion Wildlife

                          Management Area in Hickman/Carlisle counties).

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Henderson County

                          2. Graves County

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water.

  Eastern Slender Glass Lizard                                         Ophisaurus attenuatus longicaudus

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  T               G5T5             S2                   G5                        S2

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The slender glass lizard can be found throughout much of the southeastern U.S.;

    Comment      its range extends northward into southeastern Virginia and west-central

                          Kentucky (Conant and Collins 1991).  In Kentucky, this lizard has been

                          reported from 9 counties in 2 distinctly different regions; 7 counties lie within

                          what was once the "Barrens of Kentucky" in the Mississippian Plateau region;

                          the remaining 2 are located on the Cumberland Plateau in southeastern

                          Kentucky (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature

                          Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Slender glass lizards are probably declining in Kentucky; recent records (1984-

    Comment      2004) have come from 7 counties (McCreary, Whitley, Edmonson, Barren,

                          Hart, Hardin, and Todd) but the species can be found regularly only at a

                          handful of sites.  The current known range and dependence upon open habitat

                          suggest that glass lizards once foraged silently among the grasses throughout the

                           native prairie regions of the state but have largely disappeared now that this

                          habitat is now essentially gone.  Slender glass lizards still occur in good numbers

                           along open rights-of-way in McCreary and Whitley counties in southeastern

                          Kentucky.  In addition, several have recently been found in remnant open areas

                          at Mammoth Cave National Park, and a few have turned up in old fields, glades,

                           and prairies in Hart and Hardin counties.  Elsewhere, most records are for

                          single animals that were found a number of years ago, and many colonies have

                          likely been extirpated as a result of farming, development, fire suppression, and

                          natural succession (J.R. MacGregor and R.E. Todd data, Kentucky State Nature

                           Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    Habitat /        As indicated above, the slender glass lizard occurs primarily in fairly dry rocky

    Life History  open woodlands, remnant glades and prairies, rocky fields, and utility line

                          corridors with some bare ground.  Sandy soils are often a prerequisite as well

                          but some individuals have been found in other loose soil types if enough

                          suitable cover is present.

    Key               Overall habitat condition in Kentucky is POOR. 

    Habitat         

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Edmonson County

                          2. McCreary County

                          3. Whitley County

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Eastern Slender Glass Lizard                                         Ophisaurus attenuatus longicaudus

    Guilds           grassland/agricultural, savanna/ shrub-scrub.

  False Map Turtle                                                                     Graptemys pseudogeographica

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                 N               G5T5          S3S4                 G5                        S3

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The false map turtle (subspecies, not including G. ouachitensis - see below)

    Comment      occurs through much of  the midwestern U.S. from the Reelfoot Lake area (J.R.

                          MacGregor data) northward along the Mississippi River into Minnesota and

                          Wisconsin, westward in the Missouri River through Missouri and Iowa into

                          South Dakota, and eastward in the lower Ohio River and up the Wabash River

                          into western Indiana (Conant and Collins 1991).  This species is currently

                          known from 10 Kentucky counties bordering the state’s major rivers

                          (Mississippi, Ohio, and the lowest sections of the Tennessee, Cumberland, and

                          Green) from the Tennessee border to Union and McLean counties; it was

                          common at least through the 1980’s in Reelfoot Lake and is also present in Lake

                           No. 9 in western Fulton County.  This turtle apparently does not occur in

                          either Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley (J.R. MacGregor data, BPB data,

                          Lindeman data, Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004) even though the three

                          remaining Graptemys known from the state (Mississippi, Ouachita, and

                          common map turtles) all can be found in both of these reservoirs.  The

                          taxonomy of the false map turtle group (G. ouachitensis, G. kohnii, and G.

                          pseudogeographica) is unsettled; some authorities recognize each at the species

                          level while others list them in various combinations as subspecies.  In

                          Kentucky, each appears to function as a full species; populations that occur

                          sympatrically in various combinations in different rivers show little or no

                          evidence of intergradation; all are treated at the species level by this author (J.R.

                           MacGregor).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         False map turtle numbers appear to be fairly stable in the Mississippi River

    Comment      (where the species is most common).  However, this species, like the

                          Mississippi map turtle, appears to have declined dramatically in the Reelfoot

                          Lake area in recent years. This species is not tracked by Kentucky State Nature

                           Preserves Commission.

    Habitat /        The false map turtle occurs primarily in sand-bottomed sections of the

    Life History  Mississippi River and at scattered similar locations in the Ohio River with

                          moderate current; it is relatively intolerant of silt and organic/industrial

                          pollution; like the smooth softshell it typically nests in open habitat on beaches

                           and sand bars.  Human disturbance and periodic summer flooding of beach and

                          sandbar nesting habitat are major problems (Ernst et al. 1994, NatureServe

                          2004).

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  False Map Turtle                                                                     Graptemys pseudogeographica

    Key               Habitat conditions is FAIR in Kentucky.

    Habitat         

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Fulton County

    Guilds           running water.

  Green Water Snake                                                                                     Nerodia cyclopion

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  E                 G5               S1                   G5                        S1

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The Mississippi green water snake occurs along the Gulf Coast from Texas to

    Comment      Alabama, northward in the Mississippi River valley to extreme western

                          Kentucky, southern Illinois, and southeastern Missouri (Conant and Collins

                          1991).  This snake is known in Kentucky only from the Long Point area of

                          Reelfoot Lake within Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge in Fulton County

                          (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves

                          Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Stable

    S-Trend         Population trends are unknown rangewide, but this snake still occurs in low

    Comment      numbers at the only Kentucky location where it was originally found in 1938;

                          at least one gravid female was captured and released there as recently as 2001

                          (J.R. MacGregor data).

    Habitat /        Usually found in shallow lakes, sloughs, bayous, oxbows, and sluggish swamps;

    Life History  most often associated with slow-moving or standing water; prefers areas that

                          are at least partly wooded.  Generally requires adjacent upland habitat with

                          mammal burrows, rock crevices, or old root channels for winter hibernation

                          (Wright and Wright 1957, Ernst and Ernst 2003, J.R. MacGregor data).

    Key               Habitat condition is probably GOOD.

    Habitat           

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Fulton County

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water.

  Green Water Snake                                                                                     Nerodia cyclopion

  Conservation Issues

         Aquatic habitat degradation

              2H     Wetland loss/drainage/alteration .  Loss of wetland connectivity, wetland

                        drainage/conversion.

         Biological/ consumptive uses

              5F      Low population densities.  Always rare/local

         Terrestrial habitat degradation

              3A     Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual reuse of fields, etc)

              3R      Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation.  Loss of wetland connectivity.

              3U     Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique microhabitats

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Kirtland's Snake                                                                                       Clonophis kirtlandii

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  T                 G2               S2                   G2                        S2

    G-Trend        Decreasing

    G-Trend        Midwestern U.S., from Pennsylvania  westward through much of Ohio,

    Comment      Indiana, and Illinois; also southern Michigan, western and northern Kentucky,

                          and the eastern edge of Missouri (Conant and Collins 1991).  Known from 8

                          Kentucky counties in the Jackson Purchase, Western Coal Field, the Louisville

                          area, and northern Kentucky (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky

                           State Nature Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Kirtland’s snake is thought to be declining both rangewide and in Kentucky. 

    Comment      This snake seems to be holding its own in some sections of Louisville and in the

                           Terrapin Creek drainage near the Tennessee border in Graves County, but

                          colonies in other parts of Louisville may have disappeared.  Elsewhere in the

                          state, David Bell found a specimen in the mid-1980’s at Rumsey (McLean

                          County) in the Western Coal Field.  Recent records (1984-2004) total 4

                          counties; all other records are historic.  House cat predation may be an

                          important factor limiting urban populations of Kirtland’s snakes in Jefferson

                          County (J.R. MacGregor, pers. obs.).

    Habitat /        Kirtland’s snake inhabits urban areas including vacant lots, wet meadows,

    Life History  thickets, woods margins, waste areas, and wetland restoration sites in Jefferson

                          County; it also occurs in roadsides and adjacent old fields, open wetlands, and

                          low woodlands in the Terrapin Creek area in Graves County.  Published habitat

                           information from across the range lists the following habitats: marshy land,

                          open prairie, pastures, edges, areas near wetlands and water, and woodlands

                          (Ernst and Ernst 2003, Wright and Wright 1957).

    Key               Habitat condition is generally POOR through most of the range in Kentucky.

    Habitat         

                          Following Key Habitats (good):

                          1. Jefferson County

                          2. Graves County

    Guilds           Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, urban/suburban.

  CLASS       REPTILIA

  Kirtland's Snake                                                                                       Clonophis kirtlandii

  Midland Smooth Softshell                                                                   Apalone mutica mutica

                        Federal      Heritage      GRank        SRank       GRank                SRank

                        Status         Status                                                 (Simplified)         (Simplified)

                             N                  S               G5T5             S3                   G5                        S3

    G-Trend        Unknown

    G-Trend        The midland smooth softshell occurs in the south-central and midwestern U.S.,

    Comment      ranging northward in Mississippi River system into Wisconsin and Minnesota

                          and eastward through Ohio River system into western Pennsylvania  (Conant

                          and Collins 1991).  This form is currently known from 17 Kentucky counties

                          bordering the state’s major rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and

                          Cumberland); possibly occurs in all of the Ohio River counties in suitable sandy

                           habitat (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004; Kentucky State Nature

                          Preserves Commission Database 2004).

    S-Trend         Decreasing

    S-Trend         Although its global status is unknown, the smooth softshell is probably

    Comment      declining here in Kentucky where it  mostly occurs in the Mississippi River, at

                          scattered locations in the Ohio River, and in Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. 

                          Recent records (1984-2004) in the Kentucky State Nature Preserves

                          Commission Database (2004) are from 13 counties (Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle,

                          Ballard, McCracken, Marshall, Lyon, Trigg, Calloway, Livingston, Union,

                          Henderson, and Jefferson).  The smooth softshell was probably much more

                          common in the Ohio River before the original low-level dams were put in, and

                          the newer high-level dams are likely reducing it further by altering or eliminating

                           nesting habitat on beaches and sandbars.  Mississippi River population levels

                          are likely stable.  Both species of softshells are extremely sensitive to water

                          pollution and very vulnerable to industrial discharges and chemical spills that

                          can cause fish kills (Minton 2001).  Periodic summer flooding of sandbars

                          (nesting habitat) is a major problem (Ernst et al. 1994), as is the damming of

                          rivers to block natural fluctuations in flow regime and sandbar deposition.

    Habitat /        The smooth softshell occurs in sand-bottomed sections of the Mississippi