LIZARDS AND SNAKES OF ALABAMA Philip Henry Gosse as a young man of twenty-nine, the year of his return to England from Alabama, painted by his brother, William Gosse. (1839, watercolor on ivory, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery—London) ADVISORY PANEL Dr. Gary R. Mullen, Entomology, Auburn University (Emeritus) Dr. L. J. Davenport, Botany, Samford University Elberta Gibbs Reid, Birmingham Audubon Society Dr. E. O. Wilson, Zoology, Harvard University (Emeritus) INAUGURAL Birmingham Audubon Society SPONSORS Mary Carolyn Gibbs Boothby Lida Inge Hill Fay Belt Ireland Henry S. Lynn Jr. Medical Management Plus, Inc. Dr. Connie S. and Dr. James A. Pittman Jr. Elberta Gibbs Reid Frances B. and James W. Shepherd Becky H. and William E. Smith Jr. Virginia B. and William M. Spencer III Ann A. and Donald B. Sweeney Jr. Dr. Cameron M. and Judge J. Scott Vowell Alice M. and N. Thomas Williams Harriett Harton Wright Louise A. and John N. Wrinkle Philip Henry Gosse (1810–1888) was an English naturalist and illustrator who spent eight months of 1838 on the Alabama frontier, teaching planters’ children in Dallas County and studying the native flora and fauna. Years after returning to England, he published the now-classic Letters from Alabama: Chiefly Relating to Natural History, with twenty-nine important black-and-white illustrations included. He also produced, during his Alabama sojourn, forty-nine remarkable watercolor plates of various plant and animal species, mainly insects, now available in Philip Henry Gosse: Science and Art in “Letters from Alabama” and “Entomologia Alabamensis.” The Gosse Nature Guides are a series of natural history guidebooks prepared by experts on the plants and animals of Alabama and designed for the outdoor enthusiast and ecology layman. Because Alabama is one of the nation’s most biodiverse states, its residents and visitors require accurate, accessible field guides to interpret the wealth of life that thrives within the state’s borders. The Gosse Nature Guides are named to honor Philip Henry Gosse’s early appreciation of Alabama’s natural wealth and to highlight the valuable legacy of his recorded observations. Look for other volumes in the Gosse Nature Guides series at http://uapress.ua.edu. LIZARDS AND SNAKES OF ALABAMA CRAIG GUYER, MARK A. BAILEY AND ROBERT H. MOUNT WITH LINE DRAWINGS BY CLAIRE C. FLOYD THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS TUSCALOOSA The University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380 uapress.ua.edu Copyright © 2018 by the University of Alabama Press All rights reserved. Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the University of Alabama Press. Typeface: Scala Pro Manufactured in China Cover image: Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster, Elmore County, AL; photo courtesy of James C. Godwin Cover and interior design: Michele Myatt Quinn Publication is supported in part by the ALABAMA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-0-8173-5916-4 E-ISBN: 978-0-8173-9192-8 I see that you are surprised at the rustling noise and motion that occurs among the dry leaves on either side, at almost every step. It is caused by the nimble feet of little lizards, which dart along like lightning as we approach, to the shelter of the nearest log or stone, under which they may hide: they move so quickly that it is very seldom we can catch a glance of their bodies; we trace them only by their motion and their sound. There are three or four species, the most common of which is called, by a strange misnomer, the Scorpion (Agama undulata); and it is this species which so rapidly scuttles along under the crisped leaves. It is about six inches long, of which half is tail: above, it is greyish, with darker bands; underneath it is palish, with a patch of bright blue under the throat, larger in some (I think, males) than in others. It is covered with prominent scales, each having a sharp ridge, which gives it a rough appearance. They are very abundant, and may be often seen chasing each other about some old log, running by little starts, now on the top, now on the sides, and now on the bottom, it being all the same whether the back be upward or downward. —Philip Henry Gosse, Letters from Alabama, Letter III, Dallas County, June 1, 1838 Contents Abbreviations Introduction The Squamate Fauna of Alabama Indigenous Species Introduced Species Taxonomic Changes and Problems Climate of Alabama Alabama Geography River Basins Important Geographic Units The Coastal Plain Lower Coastal Plain Red Hills Black Belt