150 
J. Whitfield Gibbons and Julian R. Harrison III 
Species Both Kiawah 
Islands Only 
Serpentes 
Colubridae 
Natrix fasciata. Banded Water Snake X 
Thamnophis sauritus. Ribbon Snake X 
Thamnophis sirtalis. Garter Snake X 
Coluber constrictor. Black Racer X 
Masticophis flagellum, Coachwhip X 
Lampropeltis getulus. Chain Kingsnake X 
Opheodrys aestivus. Rough Green Snake X 
Elaphe obsoleta. Rat Snake, Chicken Snake X 
Elaphe guttata. Corn Snake X 
Tantilla coronata. Crowned Snake X 
Cemophora coccinea. Scarlet Snake X 
Viperidae 
Agkistrodon contortrix. Copperhead X 
Agkistrodon piscivorus, Cottonmouth X 
Crotalus horridus, Canebrake Rattlesnake X 
Crocodilia 
Crocodilidae 
Alligator mississippiensis , American Alligator X 
*Marine or estuarine species known or suspected to nest on both islands. 
**Eumeces laticeps occurs on Kiawah; some of the skinks observed but not 
captured on Capers may have been this species. 
genera and 9 families of reptiles and 6 genera and 6 families of amphibi- 
ans (Table 2). With the possible exception of Chelydra serpentina, all 
species found on Capers (11 reptiles, 4 amphibians) have also been 
reported on Kiawah. (A specimen of C. serpentina was reported on the 
south end of Capers Island by David Chamberlain and L. L. Gaddy, but 
has not been seen by the authors.) 
Barrier islands of the Atlantic (Lewis 1946; Engels 1942, 1952; Quay 
1959; Martof 1963; Parnell and Adams 1970; Lee 1972; Johnson et al. 
1974; Hillestad et al. 1975) and Gulf (Jackson and Jackson 1970; Blaney 
1971) coasts generally have a greatly reduced herpetofauna compared 
with that of the adjacent mainland (Gibbons and Coker 1978). Kiawah 
has 16% and Capers 10% of the mainland’s amphibian species. Mainland 
reptiles are better represented than amphibians on both islands, with 
Kiawah having 43% and Capers 21%. The abundance of reptiles and 
amphibians on the islands is in accord with what would be predicted from 
the amount of woodland area available for habitation by these groups of 
