Species List
Salamanders (Caudata)
- Ambystoma tigrinum (Green, 1825) - Eastern Tiger Salamander
Frogs (Anura)
- Spea bombifrons (Cope, 1863) - Plains Spadefoot
- Anaxyrus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) - American Toad
- Anaxyrus cognatus (Say, 1822) - Great Plains Toad
- Anaxyrus woodhousii (Girard, 1854) - Woodhouse's Toad
- Acris blanchardi Harper, 1947 - Blanchard's Cricket Frog
- Hyla chrysoscelis Cope, 1880 - Cope's Gray Treefrog
- Hyla versicolor LeConte, 1825 - Gray Treefrog
- Pseudacris maculata (Agassiz, 1850) - Boreal Chorus Frog
- Lithobates blairi (Mecham, Littlejohn, Oldham, Brown, and Brown, 1973) - Plains Leopard Frog
- Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802) - American Bullfrog
- Lithobates clamitans (Latreille, 1801) - Green Frog
- Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1886) - Southern Leopard Frog
- Gastrophryne olivacea (Hallowell, 1856) - Western Narrow-mouthed Toad
Lizards (Lacertilia)
- Aspidoscelis sexlineata (Linnaeus, 1766) - Six-lined Racerunner
- Plestiodon fasciatus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Common Five-lined Skink
- Scincella lateralis (Say in James, 1823) - Little Brown Skink
- Ophisaurus attenuatus Cope, 1880 - Western Slender Glass Lizard
Snakes (Serpentes)
- Carphophis vermis (Kennicott, 1859) - Western Wormsnake
- Coluber constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 - North American Racer
- Diadophis punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766) - Ring-necked Snake
- Heterodon platirhinos Latreille, 1801 - Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
- Lampropeltis calligaster (Harlan, 1827) - Prairie Kingsnake
- Lampropeltis triangulum (Lacépède, 1789) - Eastern Milksnake
- Nerodia erythrogaster (Forster, 1771) - Plain-bellied Watersnake
- Nerodia rhombifer (Hallowell, 1852) - Diamond-backed Watersnake
- Nerodia sipedon (Linnaeus, 1758) - Common Watersnake
- Pantherophis obsoletus (Say, 1823) - Western Ratsnake
- Storeria dekayi (Holbrook, 1836) - DeKay's Brownsnake
- Thamnophis proximus (Say, 1823) - Orange-striped Ribbonsnake
- Thamnophis radix (Baird and Girard, 1853) - Plains Gartersnake
- Thamnophis sirtalis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Common Gartersnake
- Tropidoclonion lineatum (Hallowell, 1856) - Lined Snake
- Agkistrodon contortrix (Linnaeus, 1766) - Copperhead
- Crotalus horridus Linnaeus, 1758 - Timber Rattlesnake
Turtles (Testudines)
- Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758) - Snapping Turtle
- Kinosternon flavescens (Agassiz, 1857) - Yellow Mud Turtle
- Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783) - Western Painted Turtle
- Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758) - Three-toed Box Turtle
- Terrapene ornata (Agassiz, 1857) - Ornate Box Turtle
- Trachemys scripta (Schoepff, 1792) - Red-eared Slider
- Apalone spinifera (LeSueur, 1827) - Eastern Spiny Softshell
Collection Summary
Clay County has a total of 173 valid, non-duplicated collections representing 42 species and 80 localities. There are a total of 57 collectors and 103 collection dates for the county. This results in a total of 123 expeditions for the county, a measure of unique date / collector(s) combinations. The county's earliest collection year is 1909 and its most recent collection year is 2015. The earliest and latest collection dates (independent of earliest and most recent collection years) are January 18 and October 31, respectively. If you have a new record to report for Clay County, read the New Records section of the FAQ.
Collection Summary by Species
Potential Species Records
Likelihood | Species | Common Name | Rationale | Ecoregion / Watershed | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 2 | Ambystoma texanum | Small-mouthed Salamander | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Anaxyrus fowleri | Fowler's Toad | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Coluber flagellum | Eastern Coachwhip | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Graptemys pseudogeographica | False Map Turtle | Same watershed, within 5 miles | Independence-Sugar |
![]() | 2 | Necturus maculosus | Mudpuppy | Same watershed, within 5 miles | Lower Missouri-Crooked |
![]() | 2 | Opheodrys aestivus | Northern Rough Greensnake | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Opheodrys vernalis | Smooth Greensnake | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Pituophis catenifer | Bullsnake | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Plestiodon obsoletus | Great Plains Skink | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 5 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 2 | Regina grahamii | Graham's Crawfish Snake | Same watershed, within 5 miles | Lower Missouri-Crooked |
![]() | 3 | Sistrurus tergeminus | Prairie Massasauga | Same Level III ecoregion, within 5 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 3 | Tantilla gracilis | Flat-headed Snake | Same Level III ecoregion, within 5 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 3 | Virginia valeriae | Western Smooth Earthsnake | Same Level III ecoregion, within 5 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 4 | Apalone mutica | Midland Smooth Softshell | Same watershed, within 10 miles | Lower Missouri-Crooked |
![]() | 4 | Pantherophis emoryi | Great Plains Ratsnake | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 10 miles | Rolling Loess Prairies |
![]() | 4 | Sternotherus odoratus | Eastern Musk Turtle | Same watershed, within 10 miles | Lower Missouri-Crooked |
![]() | 5 | Ambystoma maculatum | Spotted Salamander | Same Level III ecoregion, within 10 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 5 | Crotaphytus collaris | Eastern Collared Lizard | Same Level III ecoregion, within 10 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 6 | Lampropeltis holbrooki | Speckled Kingsnake | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 20 miles | Loess Flats and Till Plains |
![]() | 6 | Pseudacris crucifer | Spring Peeper | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 20 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 8 | Plestiodon septentrionalis | Prairie Skink | Same Level IV ecoregion, within 30 miles | Missouri Alluvial Plain |
![]() | 9 | Storeria occipitomaculata | Northern Red-bellied Snake | Same Level III ecoregion, within 30 miles | Western Corn Belt Plains |
![]() | 10 | Lithobates areolatus | Northern Crawfish Frog | Same Level IV ecoregion, adjacent county | Loess Flats and Till Plains |
Checklist
All MOHAP publications are released in portable document format (PDF), an ISO standard. You must download and install a reader (click icon below) to view these documents. A state checklist, including all counties, is available on the publications page.
Daniel, R.E., B.S. Edmond, and J.T. Briggler. 2020. Checklist of Clay County Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. <http://atlas.moherp.org/county/Clay>
Daniel, R.E., B.S. Edmond, and J.T. Briggler. 2020. Checklist of Clay County Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. <http://atlas.moherp.org/county/Clay> (with common names)