Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

An adult Timber Rattlesnake from Allen County. © Travis W. Taggart.
An adult Timber Rattlesnake from Chautauqua County, Kansas. © Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH.
An adult from Chautauqua County, Kansas. Image © Dexter Mardis.
An adult Timber Rattlesnake from Leavenworth County, Kansas. © John Tollefson.
Sub-adult Timber Rattlesnake from Marshall County. © Maci Loughrea.
REPTILIA (Reptiles) SQUAMATA (PART) (Snakes) CROTALIDAE (Pit Vipers)

Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus Linnaeus, 1758
krō-tă-ləs — hŏr-rə-dŭs

Conservation Status:
State: Kansas Species in Need of Conservation (SINC)
Federal: None
NatureServe State: S3 - Vulnerable
NatureServe National: N4 - Apparently Secure
NatureServe Global: G4 - Apparently Secure
CITES: None
Diagnosis:
 DANGEROUSLY VENOMOUS (a threat to life or limb): Largest native rattlesnake in Kansas. The Timber Rattlesnake is the largest venomous snake in Kansas and is characterized by a pit on each side of the head between and slightly below the eye and nostril, a rattle on the tail, small scales covering most of the top of the head with one large scale over each eye, a pattern of dark bands or chevrons on the back, and a uniform black tail. The head and body vary from pinkish gray to yellowish brown. The back has 18- 33 dark brown to black bands or chevrons. A rusty, reddish stripe often runs down the middle of the back. The belly is grayish white. Adult males have longer and thicker tails and grow larger than females.
This is a large, stout-bodied snake that can obtain lengths of five feet or more. Adults normally grow 90.0-152.0 cm (36-60 inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a female (KU 1645) from Douglas County with a total length of 161.3 cm (63½ inches, including rattle) collected by Charles D. Bunker and G. I. Adams in June 1899. The maximum length throughout the range is 189.2 cm (74½ inches) (Powell et al., 2016). The maximum weight for a Kansas specimen is 2,386 grams (5 pounds, 4 ounces).
Distribution:
 The Timber Rattlesnake is known from the Marais des Cygnes, Kansas, and Missouri drainage basins. It enters Kansas from Oklahoma in the Cross Timbers but is conspicuously absent from the Neosho River basin.
The observation at Pittsburg, Crawford County, was reported in the Pittsburg Morning Sun (newspaper) on Wednesday 29 August 2001. The snake was discovered at 11 am basking on the pavement near the south entrance to the Bath-Naylor Funeral Home. The article also stated that this is the third time in 17 years that a rattlesnake has been found inside the Pittsburg City Limits. This record is questionable and additional reports (or preferably specimen[s]) are desired.
(,   Museum Voucher) (,   Observation) (,   Literature Record) (,   iNat Record), (  Fossil)
Open icons are questionable records; Click on a marker to view details.
Full range depicted by light shaded red area. Export Google Earth (.kml)
  • Occurrence Summary:  
  • 544
    Records 
  • 474
    Museum Vouchers 
  • 70
    Other Observations 
Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
 County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
 Allen (3); Anderson (2); Atchison (19); Bourbon (17); Chautauqua (54); Cowley (1); Crawford (13); Doniphan (5); Douglas (107); Elk (9); Franklin (71); Geary (2); Jackson (2); Jefferson (15); Johnson (47); Leavenworth (25); Linn (7); Lyon (1); Marshall (35); Miami (45); Montgomery (4); Osage (15); Pottawatomie (7); Riley (13); Shawnee (4); Unknown (16); Wabaunsee (2); Wilson (1); Wyandotte (2);

Fossil History:
 Not known from Kansas.
Natural History:
 This shy species is found in rugged terrain along heavily vegetated, rocky outcrops on partially forested hillsides. It is active from April to October and prefers air temperatures of 80-90°F.
The Timber Rattlesnake is diurnal during spring and fall but prowls at night during the summer months to avoid the higher daytime temperatures. Although this snake may travel over thirty yards during a day to seek areas of abundant food, it frequently spends long periods of time coiled and immobile, patiently waiting for prey to approach. Females apparently wander less than males; furthermore, they generally do not feed during pregnancy, relying on stored fat to maintain them until the birth of the young. However, Rick Strawn (pers. comm., 1991; Collins, 1993) maintained a captive gravid female from Johnson County that fed regularly until two weeks prior to giving birth. During winter, this snake retreats deep into the burrows and crevices of rocky outcrops to avoid cold weather.
Timber Rattlesnakes mate during the spring soon after emergence from winter inactivity. Courtship is poorly documented, but involves the male positioning himself alongside the female and stimulating her with quick, rapid jerks of his head and body. The male curls his tail beneath the female's until their cloacal openings meet and copulation occurs.
Females may produce litters only every other year. The young are born during August, September, or October, and litters range in number from five to fourteen (Fitch, 1985), with an average of eight or nine. Collins (1982) reported a female from Johnson County giving birth to six young on 23 September. Young Timber Rattlesnakes are venomous at birth and have a single button on their tail. Additional segments are added each time a snake sheds its skin, producing a rattle that may have up to fifteen segments. Females normally reach maturity in their fourth year (Fitch, 1985).
This species feeds on mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits, bats, and other small mammals, as well as on smaller snakes (Collins, 1993).
Occurrence Activity:
 Number of Unique Obervations (=days): 125; Range: 16 Jan to 31 Oct
Remarks:
 First reported from Kansas by Cope (1859) based on a specimen from "Kansas" collected by Fort Riley surgeon William A. Hammond. Yarrow (1882) lists a specimen (USNM 4621) from "Kansas" collected by U.S. Arm Topographical Engineers Captain J. H. Simpson collected in 1858. This is the earliest existing specimen from Kansas.
Reportedly declining throughout portions of its former range elsewhere, this large, shy snake is generally doing well where it occurs in Kansas. While individually well-camouflaged it is difficult for populations of this large snake with prominent rattles to escape detection, and it is generally a well-known snake where it occurs. Fitch (1984) postulated that prior to settlement, Timber Rattlesnakes were not common and that with greater control of fires and the concomitant increase in forests their populations have increased.
In rural areas the Timber Rattlesnake is abundant. Populations have probably changed little in the past 50 years. In urban areas, the greatest threat it faces is habitat conversion for development. In these areas (Wyandotte and Johnson counties specifically) populations are certainly declining.
Enough data exists to show that many populations of Timber Rattlesnakes still persist in less developed portions of Johnson and Wyandotte counties. Local extinctions and fragmentation have already occurred, and more is inevitable.
The Timber Rattlesnake was listed as a Kansas SINC species in 1993.
This snake has a fairly mild disposition compared with the Prairie Rattlesnake or the Western Massasauga. When approached, it frequently remains motionless and quiet in order to avoid being seen. No one should rely on any rattlesnake to 'warn' them by rattling, since many rattlesnakes never rattle until stepped on or otherwise molested.
Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity for this snake of thirty years, two months, and one day.
Bibliography:
1758 Linné, Carl von (=Linneaus). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [System of Nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species with characters, differences, synonyms, places.] 10th Edition, Volume 1, L. Salvius, Stockholm. iv + 826pp.
Contains the original descriptions of Testudo serpentina (=Chelydra serpentina) page 199, Lacerta fasciata (=Plestiodon fasciatus) page 209, Crotalus horridus page 214, and Coluber sipedon (=Nerodia sipedon) page 219.
1848 Abert, James W. Notes of Lieutenant J. W. Abert. Appendix Number 6. Pages 386-414 in Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri to San Diego, in California including Parts of Arkansas, Del Norte and Gila Rivers Wendell and Benthuysen, Printers, Senate Executive Document 41, 30th Congress First Session, Washington, D. C. pp.
Lieutenant Abert left Fort Leavenworth on 27 June 1846 en route to San Diego, California.
By 8 July they had reached Turkey Creek in Marion County, where he remarked "The men killed several rattlesnakes near our camp, and one a grey snake, marked with a row of blackish spots along the back; it is said never to exceed two feet in length, and is called the grey rattlesnake."
On 11 July they had reach Cow Creek in Rice County and Abert noted "As our wagons moved along the road, the lizards (Lacerta lineatus) [Aspidoscelis sexlineata] were darting rapidly along the ruts in front of it, anxious to escape being crushed. The common land turtle (Testudo clausa) [Terrepene ornata] were also very abundant."
On 14 July they had reached Pawnee Rock (Barton County) where he wrote, "This morning Laing brought me a very large toad, (Rana musica) [currently a synonym for Anaxyrus terrestris but likely referring to A. woodhousii far exceeding any I ever before have seen."
On 15 July, and still at Pawnee Rock he wrote "To-day we saw several large white cranes with black-tipped wings; (Grus americanus) and Laing killed me some rattlesnakes, (Crotalus horridus) [not local] and several prairie snakes."
On 18 July they were moving along the Arkansas River west of Pawnee Rock and noted "The ruts of the road were full of little lizards, sunning themselves; as we approached they would dart briskly away, manifestly disinclined to play the part of devotees to Juggernaut."
1859 Cope, Edward D. Catalogue of the venomous serpents in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with notes on the families, genera, and species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 11():332-347
1860 Mitchell, S. Weir. Researches Upon the Venom of the Rattlesnake: With an Investigation of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Organ Concerned. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, Smithsonian Institution, Washinton, D. C.. 145pp.
1862 Colt, Miriam. D. Went to Kansas: Being a thrilling account of an ill-fated expedition to that fairy land, and its sad results; Together with a sketch of the life of the author, and how the world goes with her. L. Ingalls and Company, Watertown. 294pp.
Based on the personal diaries of Miriam Colt. The accounts written as she and her family traveled from New York to Kansas in 1856 to join the Vegetarian Society settlement (on the Neosho River near present day Humboldt) and their challenges once they arrived. There are mentions of "rattlesnakes" (Timber Rattlesnakes as described [though there are no present day records from the Neosho River drainage in Kansas]), "copperheads",  "blow snakes" (Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes), "black snakes" (Western Ratsnakes), chorusing frogs ("soprano peeper, up to the bass "grout"), and "spotted lizards". 
1877 Mozley, Annie E. List of Kansas snakes in the museum of the Kansas State University. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 6():34-35
First attempt to compile a complete list of snakes reported from Kansas. Most specimens were from Douglas and Wallace counties.
Contains obvious identification/locality errors Thamnophis marcianus (Douglas County) and Heterodon simus (Wallace County).
Neroida holbrookii = Nerodia rhombifer.
Use of the name 'Kansas State University' actually refers to The University of Kansas where Annie E. (Mozley)Boddington received her BS @ KU in 1878 (see also Gloyd 1928).
1880 Cragin, Francis W. A preliminary catalogue of Kansas reptiles and batrachians Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 7():112-123
Also listed the Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea) [=Ophibolus doliatus var. coccineus] and Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) [=Spelerpes ruber] from Kansas.
1882 Yarrow, Henry C. 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
A summary of all herpetological species known at the time, with reference to specimens in the United States National Museum. Including one three Acris blanchardi from Fort Riley; Agkistrodon contortrix from Fort Riley; three Ambystoma mavortium from "Kansas" and another from Fort Riley; one Anaxyrus woodhousii from "Kansas"; one Anaxyrus cognatus from "Kansas" and another from Fort Riley; one Carphophis vermis from Fort Scott; three Coluber constrictor from "Kansas" and two from Fort Riley; one Crotalus horridus from 1858; one Diadophis punctatus from Hyatt [Hyette sic], Kansas (Anderson County); one Graptemys pseudogeographica from the Republican River in Kansas;   two Heterodon nasicus from Fort Riley; one Lampropeltis calligaster from Neosho Falls; one Lampropeltis holbrooki from Fort Riley, one from "Natchez", Kansas, and one other from Shawnee Mission, Kansas;one Lampropeltis gentilis from Fort Riley and one other from the Republican River, Kansas; one Pantherophis obsoletus from Fort Riley;fourteen Phrynosoma douglassi from "Kansas" and four from Fort Riley; three Phrynosoma cornutum from Fort Riley (Riley County);  three Pituophis catenifer from "Platte Valley", Kansas [likely from eastern Colorado prior to 1861] and two specimens from Fort Riley; one Plestiodon septentrionalis from Neosho Falls (Woodson County); one Plestiodon obsoletus from Fort Riley; one Thamnophis sirtalis from "Kansas"; one Nerodia sipedon from Fort Riley and another from Neosho Falls; one Scincella lateralis from Fort Scott (Bourbon County); one Thamnophis proximus from Fort Riley; four Sceloporus consobrinus from Fort Riley; one Tantilla nigriceps from Fort Riley; four Thamnophis sirtalis from "Kansas" and two from Little Blue River, Kansas; 
1895 Stejneger, Leonhard. The poisonous snakes of North America. Annual Report of the United States National Museum 1893(2):337-487
1900 Cope, Edward D. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Pages 153-1270 in Report of the U. S. National Museum for the Year Ending June 30, 1898 , Washington, D. C. pp.
1903 Branson, Edwin B. Snakes of Kansas Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence. 41pp.
Describes all snake species reported from Kansas, considering doubtful those species that the author has not encountered himself. This list contains twenty-nine valid species. Collections examined included State University (KU), State House, Washburn College (WU), Ottawa University, State Normal School (ESU), State Agricultural College (KSU), and several high schools in Kansas. Examined the material available to Mozley (1878) and determined that of the thirty-three species listed, only twenty-three species were valid currently. And that Cragin's (1880) list of thirty-two species included eight specimens on the authority of Mozley that this author could not verify in any collection.
1904 Branson, Edwin B. Snakes of Kansas. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 2(13):353-430
1907 Ditmars, Raymond L. The Reptile Book; A comprehensive, Popularised Work on the Structure and Habits of the Turtles, Tortoises, Crocodilians, Lizards and Snakes which Inhabit the United States and Northern Mexico. Doubleday, Pae, and Company, New York. 472pp.
Several references to Kansas in the distribution of specific species accounts.
1911 Hurter, Julius. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 20(5):59-274
1925 Linsdale, Jean M. Land Vertebrates of a Limited Area in Eastern Kansas. Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 312pp.
1927 Burt, Charles E. An annotated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Riley County, Kansas. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (189):12
Accounts on forty species known from the vicinity of Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas. There have been several scientific names changes since publication, which is understandable... however, some usages cannot be explained by subsequent taxonomic reappraisals(e.g.  Gastrophryne carolinensis for Gastrophryne olivacea). The writer lists Eumeces (=Plestiodon) obsoletus and E. guttulatus yet correctly reasoning that the latter is the young of the former. Within the account of Tantilla gracilis (a common form) the writer mentions that T. nigriceps was reported from Riley County by Branson (1904) but that the specimens at Kansas State were absent at the time of publication. The Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) was first reported from Riley County by Branson (1904) and is reported by the writer based on a specimen in the museum at Kansas State University by Professor E. A. Popenoe. The Prairie Rattlesnake is not currently native to Riley County, and closest reliable localities are 150 to the west.
1927 Linsdale, Jean M. Amphibians and reptiles of Doniphan County, Kansas. Copeia 1927(164):75-81
1928 Ortenburger, Arthur I. The whip snakes and racers: Genera Masticophis and Coluber. Memiors of the University of Michigan Museum (1):1-247
1929 Taylor, Edward H. A revised checklist of the snakes of Kansas. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 19(5):53-62
1933 Burt, Charles E. Some distributional and ecological records of Kansas reptiles. Transactions of the Academy of Science St. Louis 26():186-208
1936 Hurd, Myron Alec. The reptiles of Cherokee County, Kansas. Thesis. Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas. 103pp.
Under the supervision of thesis adviser Harry H. Hall. Report on 38 species (8 turtles, 7 lizards, and 23 snakes)... most unsubstantiated. Interesting inclusion are Crotalus horridus, Crotalus viridis, Kinosternon subrubrum, Opheodrys vernalis, and Phrynosoma cornutum.
1936 Brumwell, Malcolm J. Distributional records of the reptilia and amphibians of Kansas. Privately printed, . 22pp.
County dot maps of the Kansas herpetofauna. This work has been attributed to have been written around 1933, but that may be in error. 
Hypsiglena jani was not known from Kansas until Claude W. Hibbard collected three specimens on the Stevenson Ranch in north-central Clark County (above Clark State Lake) during June 1936 (Hibbard, 1937). Brumwell plotted this locality, which leads me to believe that the 1936 would have been the earliest date this manuscript could have been written.
1938 Bond, Glenn Carl Serological studies of the Reptilia. Dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 110pp.
1940 Klauber, Laurence M. A statistical study of the rattlesnakes. VII The Rattle Part 1. Occasional Papers San Diego Society of Natural History (6):1-62
1940 Gloyd, Howard K. The rattlesnakes, genera Sistrurus and Crotalus. Chicago Academy of Sciences Special Publication 4(1):1-266
1941 Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.
1942 Hudson, G. E. The amphibians and reptiles of Nebraska. Nebraska Conservation Bulletin 24():1-146
1946 Gloyd, Howard K. Some rattlesnake dens of South Dakota. The Chicago Naturalist 9(4):87-97
1947 Hall, Henry H. and Hobart M. Smith. Selected records of reptiles and amphibians from southeastern Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 49(4):447-454
Report on certain Kansas specimens housed in the collection at what is now Pittsburg State University. Included are several species of dubious status today, including Cryptobranchus alleganiensis from the Neosho and Spring rivers (the only specimens from those significant drainages ever documented), Ambystoma maculatum from just north of Pittsburg, Crawford County, Heterodon nasicus from Crawford County, Opheodrys vernalis from Crawford County, Sonora episcopa from Crawford County, Agkistrodon piscivorus from Cherokee County, Crotalus atrox from Crawford County, and Crotalus viridis from Crawford County. They report several significant range extensions including Kinosternon flavescens from Turkey Creek in southeast Cherokee County, Graptemys geographica from just north of Pittsburg, Crotaphytus collaris from near Columbus, Cherokee County, Sceloporus consobrinus from just north of Pittsburg, Phrynosoma cornutum from Cherokee and Crawford counties, Heterodon platirhinos from Cherokee and Crawford counties, Haldea striatula from Crawford County, Sistrurus tergeminus from Crawford County, and a 402 lb Macrochelys temminckii in Cherokee County from just east of Chetopa (Labette County). They allude to the potential for Anaxyrus fowleri to occur in southeast Kansas and for native populations of Crotalus atrox in south central Kansas (in part from the disclosure that John R. Breukelman [then of ESU] had obtained three specimens in Woods County Oklahoma, 3/4 of a mile south of the Kansas line). None of the specimens the paper was based on, exist today.
1950 Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publication (2):336
The first modern herpetology of Kansas. Includes locality dot maps within individual species accounts. Reports 96 species from Kansas (table and text say 97 on p. 10) and 13 "probable but unverified" species and subspecies.
1951 Wolfenbarger, Keith. A. Systematic and Biological Studies on North American Chiggers of the genus Eutrombicula (Acarina, Trombiculidae). Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence. 77pp.
1951 Brumwell, Malcolm J. An ecological survey of the Fort Leavenworth Military Reservation American Midland Naturalist 45(1):187-231
Published posthumously. Lieutenant Brumwell died December 14, 1941, as a result of injuries incurred during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This paper is a condensed version of his thesis for the Master's degree.
1953 Schmidt, Karl P. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.
Schmidt's first edition of his standardized checklist to North American amphibians and reptiles. Includes several specific references to Kansas in the range descriptions.
1953 Hall, E. Raymond. A western extension of known geographic range for the Timber Rattlesnake in southern Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 56():89
1956 Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. Second edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication (9):1-356
Hobart M. Smith's updated second edition of his first (1950) modern herpetology of Kansas. Includes locality dot maps within individual species accounts. Reports 96 species from Kansas (table says 97 on p. 10; text says 98 on p. 10) and 11 "probable but unverified" species and subspecies. The second edition has updated taxonomy, added Plestiodon laticeps, and removed Eurycea tynerensis.
1956 Loomis, Richard B. The chigger mites of Kansas (Acarina, Trombiculidae). University of Kansas Science Bulletin 37():1195-1443
Examined 2,628 Kansas reptiles of 48 species consisting of 27 turtles of 4 species, 1,736 lizards of 12 species and 892 snakes of 32 species for chiggers. Eleven species of chiggers were recovered from reptiles.
For amphibians, 1188 individuals of 21 species were examined. Five species of chigger mite were recovered from amphibians.
1959 Prophet, Carl W. An outline for conservation teaching in Kansas. Kansas School Naturalist 5(3):16
1967 Choate, Jerry R. Wildlife in the Wakarusa Watershed of Northeastern Kansas. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 46pp.
1967 Gier, Herschel T. Vertebrates of the Flint Hills. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 70(1):51-59
1970 Fitch, Henry S. Reproductive cycles in lizards and snakes. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication (52):1-247
1972 Klauber, Laurence M. Rattlesnakes. Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. 2 Vols. 2nd ed. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. pp.
1972 McLeran, V. Kansas rattlesnakes. Kansas Fish and Game (29(3)):1-4
1972 Pisani, George R., Joseph T. Collins, and Stephen R. Edwards. A re-evaluation of the subspecies of Crotalus horridus. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 75(3):255-263
1974 Henderson, Robert W. Resource partitioning among snakes of the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation: A preliminary analysis. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology (1):1-11
1974 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (1):283 pp
Joseph T. Collins first Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Smith 1956)>
1974 Karns, Daryl, Ray E. Ashton, Jr., and Thomas Swearingen. Illustrated Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas: An Identification Manual. University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History Public Education Series(2):viii + 18
1976 Rundquist, Eric M. Field checklist (of) amphibians and reptiles of Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society, Lawrence. pp.
1978 Harris, Herbert S. and Robert S. Simmons. A preliminary account of the rattlesnakes with descriptions of four new subspecies. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 14():105-211
1979 Collins, Joseph T. New records of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in Kansas for 1978. Technical Publication of the State Biological Survery of Kansas 8():56-66
1980 Collins, Joseph T. and James L. Knight. Crotalus horridus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (253):1-2
1981 Collins, Joseph T. New records of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in Kansas for 1980. Technical Publication of the State Biological Survery of Kansas 10():7-19
1982 Fitch, Henry S. Resources of a snake community in prairie-woodland habitat of northeastern Kansas. Pages 83-97 in Herpetological communities: A symposium of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles and the Herpetologists League, August 1977.  Wildlife Research Reports 12. 239 pp. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. pp.
1982 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. 2nd edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (8):
Joseph T. Collins second Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1974)>
1983 Lokke, John L. Featured herp: Crotalus horridus horridus. Nebraska Herpetological Society Newsletter 3(5):4-5
1983 Collins, Joseph T. New records of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in Kansas for 1982 . Technical Publication of the State Biological Survey of Kansas 13():9-21
1984 Brown, Kenneth L. Pomona: A plains village variant in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. Dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 519pp.
1984 Heinrich, Mark L. Herpetofauna of the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area in the Flint Hills region of Kansas with respect to habitat selection. Thesis. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. 57pp.
1984 Secor, Stephen M. and Charles C. Carpenter. Distribution maps of Oklahoma reptiles. Oklahoma Herpetological Society Special Publication (3):1-57
1985 Lynch, John D. Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nebraska. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Science 13():33-57
1986 Warner, Russell G. Reproduction, Movement, and Survival of the Eastern Woodrat. Thesis. Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas. 62pp.
1986 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1986. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (66):9-16
1987 Coleman, Keith. Annual KHS Field Trip held at Atchison State Lake. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (68):5-6
1990 Simon, Martin P. and Joseph H. Dorlac. The results of a faunistic survey of reptiles and amphibians of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. 11pp.
1990 Collins, Joseph T. Maximum size records for Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (81):13-17
1990 Joy, Jack. An additional note on Howard K. Gloyd. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 25(10):180
1991 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1991 Fitch, Henry S. Reptiles and amphibians of the Kansas ecological reserves. Pages 71-74 in Ecology and Hydrology of Kansas Ecological Reserves and the Baker Wetlands. Multidisciplinary Guidebook 4. Kansas Academy of Science, Lawrence, Kansas. pp.
1991 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1990. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (83):7-13
1992 Ernst, Carl H. Venomous Reptiles of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C. pp.
1992 Martin, W.H. Phenology of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in an unglaciated section of the Appalachian Mountains. Pages 259-277 in Selva, Tyler, Texas. pp.
1992 Collins, Joseph T. Results of the fourth Kansas herp count held during April-May 1992. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (89):10-
1992 Rundquist, Eric M. Kansas endangered, threatened, and SINC species. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (91):
1993 Riedle, J. Daren. Distribution of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in Chautauqua, Elk and Montgomery Counties, Kansas. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. 13pp.
1993 Collins, Joseph T. and Suzanne L. Collins. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Third Edition. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. 397pp.
Joseph T. Collins third Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1982)>
1993 Riedle, J. Daren. Distribution of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in Chautauqua, Elk, and Montgomery counties, Kansas Privately printed, Emporia, Kansas. 8pp.
1993 Brown, William S. Biology, status, and management of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus): a guide for conservation. Herpetological Circulars (22):
1993 Collins, Joseph T. and Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the fifth Kansas herp count held during April-June 1993 . Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (94):7-11
1993 Fitch, Henry S. Relative abundance of snakes in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 96(3/4):213-224
1994 Rundquist, Eric M. 1994 Field Trip Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (95):3-4
1994 Riedle, J. Daren. Distribution of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in Chautauqua, Elk, and Montgomery counties, Kansas. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (95):43051
1994 Collins, Joseph T. New records of amphibians and reptiles in Kansas for 1993. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (97):15-19
1994 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the sixth annual KHS herp counts held 1 April-31 May 1994. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (97):5-14
See, 1994 Rundquist, Eric M. Additions and corrections [to the results of the sixth annual KHS herp counts held 1 April-31 May 1994]. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (98):4.
1996 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the eighth annual KHS herp counts Held 1 April-31 May 1996. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (104):6-17
1996 Miller, Larry L. Many amphibian and reptile species identified during KHS 1996 fall field trip to Wabaunsee County. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (106):2-3
1996 Rakestraw, J. Spring herp counts: A Kansas tradition. Reptile & Amphibian Magazine (March-April):75-80
1996 Shoup, J. Mark. Wise as serpents. Kansas Wildlife and Parks 53(4):39
1998 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1998 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 131pp.
1998 Gamble, Jerre. Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hartford, Kansas. 91pp.
1998 Rundquist, Eric M. Results of the tenth annual KHS herp counts for 1998, held 1 April-31 May. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (112):11-18
1999 Rundquist, Eric M. Kansas Herpetological Society herp counts: A 10 year summary and evaluation. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (115):42962
1999 Puskar, Allan M. Captive breeding of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 34(6):126-158
2000 Fogell, Daniel D. Seasonal activity, habitat preferences, and natural history of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in southeastern Nebraska. Thesis. University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska. 91pp.
2000 Fitch, Henry S. Population structure and biomass of some common snakes in central North America. Scientific Papers of the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas (17):1-7
2001 Johnson, Richard W. Spatial ecology of the Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum) in and eastern Texas upland community. Thesis. Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. 54pp.
2001 Guarisco, Hank. Ode to an ophidion autumn. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (123):19
2002 Kingsbury, Bruce and Joanna Gibson. Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Midwest. Publication of Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Address not given. 152pp.
2002 Martin, W. H. Life history constraints on the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) at its climatic limits. Pages 285-306 in Biology of the Vipers Eagle Mountain Publishing, LC, Eagle Mountain, Utah. pp.
2002 Fitch, Henry S. and George R. Pisani. Longtime recapture of a Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (3):15-16
2003 Fitch, Henry S. and George R. Pisani. Ecology and behavior of Timber Rattlesnakes in Kansas: A study of a widespread species at the westernmost limits of its range. 2003 Summary with plans for 2004 and beyond. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. 12pp.
2003 Freeman, Craig C. A natural areas inventory of the Ft. Leavenworth Military Reservation, Leavenworth County, Kansas. II. Open-file Report No. 117. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas. 199pp.
2003 Suleiman, G. Fort Riley herpetofaunal count. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (5):11-12
2003 Fitch, Henry S. Reproduction in snakes of the Fitch Natural History Reservation in northeastern Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (6):21-24
2003 Collins, Suzanne L. An arboreal Timber Rattlesnake. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (6):7
2003 Fitch, Henry S., Scott Sharp, and Kylee Sharp. Snakes of the University of Kansas biotic succession area. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (8):20-21
2004 Fitch, Henry S., George R. Pisani, Harry W. Greene, Alice F. Echelle, and Micael Zerwekh. A Field study of the Timber Rattlesnake in Leavenworth County, Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (11):18-24
2005 Pisani, George R. and Henry S. Fitch. Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Action Plan--Kansas. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, . 11pp.
2005 Brunson, Ken. Kansas species in need of conservation (SINC). Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt, Kansas. 71pp.
2005 Taggart, Travis W. and Curtis J. Schmidt. Geographic distribution: Crotalus horridus. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (14):11
2005 Fitch, Henry S. and George R. Pisani. Disappearance of radio-monitored Timber Rattlesnakes. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (14):14-15
2005 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS 2005 fall field trip [to Crawford County]. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (16):19-21
2006 Taggart, Travis W. Distribution and status of Kansas herpetofauna in need of information. State Wildlife Grant T7. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. vii + 106pp.
2006 Fitch, Henry S. and George R. Pisani. The Timber Rattlesnake in northeastern Kansas. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (19):11-15
2006 Pisani, George R. and Henry S. Fitch. Rapid early growth in northeastern Kansas Timber Rattlesnakes. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (20):19-20
2006 Wozniak, Edward J., John Wisser, and Michael Schwartz. Venomous adversaries: A reference to snake identification, field safety, and bite-victim first aid for disaster-response personnel deploying into the hurricane-prone regions of North America. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine 17():246 266
2006 Allsteadt, John, Alan H. Savitzky, Christopher E. Petersen, and Dayanand N. Naik Geographic variation in the morphology of Crotalus horridus (Serpentes: Viperidae). Herpetological Monographs 20(1):1-63,
2008 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2008 spring field trip. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (25):2-3
2008 Walker, Mindy L., Jennifer A. Dorr, and George R. Pisani. Observation of aberrant growth in a Timber Rattlesnake. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 111():156-158
2009 Hubbs, Brian and B. O'Connor. A Guide to the Rattlesnakes of the United States. Tricolor Books, Tempe, Arizona. pp.
2009 Wittenberg, Rodney D. A study of the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in a fragmented agricultural landscape. Dissertation. University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas. 224pp.
2010 Collins, Joseph T., Suzanne L. Collins, and Travis W. Taggart. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles of Kansas Eagle Mountain Publishing., Provo, Utah. 400pp.
Joseph T. Collins fourth Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1993)>
2010 Pisani, George R. Conservation of venomous snakes is a delicate balance of science, sociology, and politics: Review of Timber Rattlesnakes in Vermont and New York: Biology, History, and the Fate of an Endangered Species, by Jon Furman. IRCF Reptiles and Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History 17(2):1213
2010 Pisani, George R. and Henry S. Fitch. Further notes on growth of juvenile Timber Rattlesnakes in Northeastern Kansas. Reptiles and Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History 17(4):210-215
2011 Ernst, Carl H. and Evelyn M. Ernst. Venomous Reptiles of the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico Volume 2. Crotalus. Johns hopkins University Press, Baltimore. pp.
2011 Taggart, Travis W. Kansas Herpetological Society 2011 spring field trip to beheld in Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (37):5-7
2011 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS Spring Field Trip to Chautauqua County. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (38):2-4
2011 Walker, Mindy L., Eric Kadlec, Ryan Miloshewski, and George R. Pisani. Associative behavior and affinity for anthropogenic habitats in two relocated Timber Rattlesnakes. Reptiles and Amphibians: Conservation and Natural History 18(4):234-237
2012 Rohweder, Megan R. Spatial conservation prioritization of Kansas for terrestrial vertebrates. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 151pp.
2012 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152pp.
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2012 Spring Field Trip to Bourbon County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):3
2013 Taggart, Travis W. KHS 2012 Fall Field Trip to Atchison County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):4
2013 Mardis, Dexter and Kevin Scott. 2013 Kansas Herpetofaunal Counts. Collinsorum 2(3/4):7
2014 Wittenberg, Rod D. and Steven J. Beaupre. Growth of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) in an agriculturally fragmented and a contiguously forested habitat. Herpetologica 70(2):171-183
2014 Anonymous. Rattler Iola Register 9 September 2014():
2015 Rohweder, Megan R. Kansas Wildlife Action Plan. Ecological Services Section, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism in cooperation with the Kansas Biological Survey. 176pp.
2015 Olson, Zachary H., Brian J. MacGowan, Matthew T. Hamilton, Andrea F.T. Currylow and Rod N. Williams. Survival of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus): Investigating individual, environmental, and ecological effects. Herpetologica 71(4):274-279
2016 Pittman, Galen L., Henry S. Fitch, and W. Dean Kettle. Vertebrate animals on the Fitch Natural History Reservation (1948-2002) Kansas Biological Survey Report Number 188, Lawrence. 48pp.
2016 Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494pp.
2016 Taggart, Travis W. Results of the KHS Summer field trip to Caney River, Chautauqua County, Kansas. Collinsorum 5(2-3):4-5
2017 Crother, Brian I. (editor) 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
2018 Stengle, Anne. Habitat selection, connectivity, and population genetics of a Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) metapopulation in southwestern Massachusetts and New England. Dissertation. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 235pp.
2018 Petersen, Christopher E., Robert E. Lovich, and Sarah Stallings. Amphibians and reptiles of  United States Department of Defense installations. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 13(3):652–661
2019 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192pp.
2019 Riedle, J. Daren. The truth about snakes. Kansas Wildlife and Parks Magazine July/August():18-21
2020 Daniel, Richard E. and Brian S. Edmond. Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. Privately printed, Columbia, Missouri. 86pp.
2020 Riedle, J. Daren. 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
2021 Pisani, George R. and Henry S. Fitch. Chapter 15. Kansas. Pages 166-174 in Timber Rattlesnake Conservation Action Plan , . pp.
2021 Holding, Matthew L., Jason L. Strickland, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Erich P. Hofmann, Andrew J. Mason, Michael P. Hogan, Gunnar S. Nystrom, Schyler A. Ellsworth, Timothy J. Colston, Miguel Borja, Gamaliel Castaneda-Gaytan, Christoph I. Grunwald , Jason M. Jones, Luciana A. Freitas-de-Sousa, Vincent Louis Viala, Mark J. Margres, Erika Hingst-Zaher, Inacio L. M. Junqueira-de-Azevedo, Ana M. Moura-da-Silvaf, Felipe G. Grazziotin, H. Lisle Gibbs, Darin R. Rokyta, and Christopher L. Parkinson. Phylogenetically diverse diets favor more complex venoms in North American pitvipers. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of the United States of America 118(17):10
2024 Myers, Edward A., Rhett M. Rautsaw, Miguel Borja, Jason Jones, Christoph I. Grünwald, Matthew L. Holding, Felipe Grazziotin, and Christopher L. Parkinson. Phylogenomic discordance is driven by wide-spread introgression and incomplete lineage sorting during rapid species diversification within rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalus and Sistrurus) Systematic Biology syae018():
Account Last Updated:
 2/15/2024 3:14:44 PM - page took 1.2639135 seconds to load.


Travis W. Taggart © 1999-2024 — w/ Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University