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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Colubridae  

Smooth Greensnake
Opheodrys vernalis (Harlan, 1827)
oh-fee-OH-drees — ver-NAL-is

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.09.14.11.27.07)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.06 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Green-snake (Coluber vernalis: Harlan, Richard. 1827. Genera of North American Reptilia, and a synopsis of the species Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philidelphia 5(2):317-372); Green Snake (Coluber vernalis: Storer, D. H. 1839. Reports on the Ichthyology and Herpetology of Massachusetts. Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Published Agreeably to an Order of the Legislature, by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.); Grass Snake (Coluber vernalis: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); Greensnake (Chlorosoma vernalis: Baird, Spencer F. 1854. Serpents of New-York; With a Notice of a Species not Hitherto Included in the Fauna of the State. C. Van Benthuysen, Albany, New York. pp.); Grass Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Allen, J. A. 1869. Catalogue of the reptiles and batrachians found in the vicinity of Springfield, Mass., with notices of all the other species known to inhabit the state. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Hisotry 12(1868-1869):171-204); Green Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Allen, J. A. 1869. Catalogue of the reptiles and batrachians found in the vicinity of Springfield, Mass., with notices of all the other species known to inhabit the state. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural Hisotry 12(1868-1869):171-204); Green Snake (Cyclophis vernalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1876. List of Skeletons and Crania in the Section of Comparative Anatomy of the United States Army Medical Museum for use during the International Exhibition of 1876 in Connection with the Representation of the Medical Department U.S. Army. Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C. pp.); Grass Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Green Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Spring Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Spring Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Green Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Grass Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Green Snake (Cyclophis vernalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. 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); Grass Snake (Cyclophis vernalis: Davis, N. S., and Frank L. Rice. 1883. List of Batrachia and Reptilia of Illinois. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 1(3):25–32); Summer Snake (Cyclophis vernalis: Davis, N. S. Jr. and Frank L. Rice. 1883. Descriptive catalogue of North American batrachia and reptilia, found east of Mississippi River. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 1(5):71); Smooth Green Snake (Cyclophis vernalis: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Spring Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Smooth Green Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Brown, Arthur, E. 1902. Report of the Board of Directors. Pages 5-22 in Thirtieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Allen, Lane, and Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp.); Green Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Grass Snake (Liopeltis vernalis: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Smooth Greensnake (Liopeltis vernalis: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Western Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Eastern Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis vernalis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1827 Harlan, Richard. Genera of North American Reptilia, and a synopsis of the species Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philidelphia 5(2):317-372
1941 Grobman, Arnold B. A contribution to the knowledge of variation in Opheodrys vernalis (Harlan), with the description of a new subspecies. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (50):38
1949 Davis, William B. The smooth green snake in Texas. Copeia 1949(3):233
1953 Davis, William B. Another record of the smooth green snake in Texas. Herpetologica 9:165
1963 Smith, Hobart M. The taxonomic status of the Black Hills population of Smooth Greensnakes. Herpetologica 19(4):256-261
1969 McClure, William L. A new record of Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi in Texas . Southwestern Naturalist 14(1):129
1973 Worthington, Richard D. Remarks on the distribution of the smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi Grobman, in Texas. Southwestern Naturalist 18(3):344-346
1979 Rundquist, Eric M. The status of Bufo debilis and Opheodrys vernalis in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 82(1):67-70
1981 Holman, J. Alan and Ronald L. Richards. Late Pleistocene occurrence in southern Indiana of the smooth green snake, Opheodrys vernalis. Journal of Herpetology 15(1):123-125
1992 Grobman, Arnold B. On races, clines, and common names in Opheodrys. Herpetological Review 23(1):14-15
1992 Grobman, Arnold B. Metamerism in the snake Opheodrys vernalis, with a description of a new subspecies. Journal of Herpetology 26:175-186
2004 Walley, H. D. Liochlorophis, L. vernalis.. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (776):1-13
2011 Shofner, Ryan M. Smooth Green Snakes (Liochlorophis vernalis) in Kansas: A history and rediscovery Journal of Kansas Herpetology (40):8

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 07 June 2025 17:10 CT