Smooth Green Snake {Liochlorophis [=Opheodrys\ venialis) 



Description: Smooth Green Snakes are small (about 16-20 inches total length) and slender. 



Dorsal color is uniform grass green, the belly is white. Scales on the dorsum are smooth, each 

 nostril is centered in a single scale, and the anal scale is divided. 



Similar species: The Racer can be green on the dorsum, but not as bright green as the Smooth 

 Green Snake. Racers in the size range of this species display a juvenile pattern of dark 

 patches that is similar to adult Gopher Snakes and not at all bright green. The nostril 

 contained within a single scale distinguishes this species from all other Montana snakes. 



Habitat and Habits: Smooth Green Snakes are usually associated with dense herbaceous cover in 

 riparian sites, either in woodlands or more open county, but they occasionally wander into 

 drier habitats adjacent to riparian areas (Wheeler and Wheeler 1966, Hammerson 1982a). 

 When inactive or denning, they often occur under stones and boards, underground, or in 

 rotting logs. Terrestrial insects and spiders are the primary foods, but it sometimes feeds on 

 aquatic invertebrates. Lays clutches of 4-8 eggs rather than giving live birth. Eggs may hatch 

 in August (Baxter and Stone 1985), but nothing is known of reproduction in Montana. A 

 juvenile (24 cm total length) was found on 7 July 1998, but may not have been a young-of- 

 the-year. 



Surveying: Walk-through surveys, especially through riparian habitats on relatively warm days, 

 are probably among the best methods for detecting this species. Turning over boards, logs 

 and rocks might reveal inactive individuals (Baxter and Stone 1985). Funnel traps used in 

 conjunction with drift fences may be useftil, but most sightings are likely to be opportunistic. 



Status: The Smooth Green Snake is reported infrequently in Montana, perhaps because it is easily 

 overiooked. This species occurs regulariy at Medicine Lake National Wildlife Reftige in 

 Sheridan County (see Black and Bragg 1 968), although there were no confirmed records 

 (photographs or specimens) for Montana prior to 1998. Two specimens collected in Sheridan 

 County (Appendix 4) on 7 July and 28 August represent the first verified records for the state. 

 Currently, this species is reported from Sheridan and Roosevelt counties, but it is likely that 

 additional field work will reveal its presence in adjacent Daniels County, and perhaps on the 

 south side of the Missouri River in Richland and McCone counties (Hart et al. 1998). 



Montana Natural Heritage Program rank: G5 S2S3. Species of Special Concern. 



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