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Appendix a Justification Justify the Proposed Change in Legal Status Of Appendix A Page 1 Species Listing PROPOSAL Form: Listing Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species in Massachusetts Scientific name: Heterodon platirhinos Current Listed Status (if any): None Common name: Eastern Hog-nosed Snake Proposed Action: X Add the species, with the status of: SC Change the scientific name to: Remove the species Change the common name to: Change the species’ status to: (Please justify proposed name change) Proponent’s Name and Address: Michael T. Jones, 90 Whitaker Road, New Salem, MA 01355 Phone Number: (978) 604-1330 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (508) 389-7890 Association, Institution or Business represented by proponent: Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Proponent’s Signature: Date Submitted: July 8, 2018 Please submit to: Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581 Justification Justify the proposed change in legal status of the species by addressing each of the criteria below, as listed in the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MGL c. 131A) and its implementing regulations (321 CMR 10.00), and provide literature citations or other documentation wherever possible. Expand onto additional pages as needed but make sure you address all of the questions below. The burden of proof is on the proponent for a listing, delisting, or status change. Brief introductory statement: Whether or not Heterodon platirhinos warrants special protection in Massachusetts has been a subject of debate for at least 30 years (Michener and Lazell 1989; L. Erb, pers. comm.; T. French, pers. comm.; C. Buelow, pers. comm.; Tyning 2013; Mirick et al. 2016; NHESP 2018). The species has probably always been relatively uncommon, as well as difficult to find, in most areas of its natural occurrence Massachusetts, as it is limited in distribution to fire-maintained pine-oak communities on areas of deep sand deposits, such as glaciofluvial lake deltas, outwash plains, and postglacial deposits of eroded outwash coastal sediments. Both pitch-pine scrub oak barrens and open-canopy, early-successional habitats have been drastically declining throughout Massachusetts, in some regions <10% of historical pine barrens remain (Motzkin et al. 1999). It is possible that the decline of pine barrens and open habitats, resulting from wildlife control and lack of disturbance, allowed habitats to transition to closed canopy habitats with mesic soils and more leaf litter (Akresh, UMass, pers. comm.). Recent telemetry studies in Franklin and Barnstable Counties, and southern New Hampshire, have revealed that adult snakes use tens of hectares of upland habitat on average in a given year, providing additional insight into why the species appears to have been extirpated from large Appendix A Page 2 areas of fragmented sandplain habitats in Hampden, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Barnstable Counties. Recent telemetry studies (Akresh et al. 2017) also found that individuals in open habitat have smaller annual home ranges. While it does not appear that the species is at immediate risk of extirpation from the entire State, and several potentially viable populations persist, there is evidence of a historical trend of range contraction in several counties and apparent extirpation of formerly documented occurrences, and clear biological links between population decline and habitat fragmentation. Recognizing the limitations of available trend data, it is still my judgment that the species warrants protection in Massachusetts as a Species of Special Concern. To prepare this assessment and proposal, I used all reported occurrences of Heterodon platirhinos from the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP) databases, Massachusetts Herpetological Atlas (MHA), museum collections (Global Biodiversity Information Facility; vertnet); and expert surveys. Not all of the information gathered for this status assessment has been independently verified or confirmed by photograph or specimen. I would also note its overall status in New England: Heterodon platirhinos is not native to Maine or Vermont, is Endangered in New Hampshire, is a Species of Special Concern in Connecticut, and is of undetermined status in Rhode Island (S. Buchanan, RI DEM, pers. comm.). This proposal is based upon earlier efforts by NHESP scientists, especially Lori Erb, to document the status of this species in Massachusetts, and was greatly improved by technical review and contributions by Michael Akresh at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Robert Cook with the National Park Service (retired); Scott Buchanan, Rhode Island State Herpetologist; and Tom Tyning from Berkshire Community College. (1) Taxonomic status. Is the species a valid taxonomic entity? Please cite scientific literature. The Eastern Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon platirhinos (Latreille 1801) is a well-supported, valid species within the widespread family Dipsadidae, subfamily Heterodontinae (formerly Colubridae; Figure 1). First described by Linnaeus in 1766 as Coluber simus, frequent changes in taxonomy between 1801 and 1948 have reflected taxonomic errors and misunderstandings rather than uncertainty regarding evolutionary distinctiveness (Platt 1985). Although the phylogenetic relationships of genus Heterodon to other Heterodontine genera (Carphophis, Diadophis, Farancia, and Contia) remain unclear, each genus is clearly monophyletic. Further, the three living species within Heterodon—H. platirhinos (Eastern Hog-nosed Snake), H. simus (Southern Hog-nosed Snake), and H. nasicus (Western Hog-nosed Snake)—are estimated to have diverged 11 million years before present (Zheng and Wiens 2016) and are generally well-supported (Ernst and Ernst 2003). Further, Heterodon is estimated to have diverged from the genus Carphophis, its closest living relative in Massachusetts, between 27.6 and 38.9 million years ago (Pook et al. 2009; Chen et al. 2014. Zootaxa 3881(6): 532–548; Zheng and Wiens 2016, op. cit.). In summary, Heterodon platirhinos is a relatively ancient (Miocene), conserved lineage without taxonomic or phylogenetic ambiguity. (2) Recentness of records. How recently has the species been conclusively documented within Massachusetts? As described in detail below, Heterodon platirhinos has been conclusively documented in Massachusetts this year (2018) from sites in Franklin and Barnstable Counties, and as recently as 2017 from sites in Montague (Franklin County), Townsend (Middlesex County), Plymouth (Plymouth County), and Bourne (Barnstable County). The species was observed as recently as 2016 in Bourne, Mashpee, and Provincetown (Barnstable County). There is no question or ambiguity that the species is conclusively extant in the Commonwealth at the time of the writing of this version of the listing proposal (i.e., July 2018; Table 1; Maps 1–3). (3) Native species status. Is the species indigenous to Massachusetts? The unambiguous native status Heterodon platirhinos to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is corroborated by historical reports as well as clear, regional, biogeographic trends (Lazell 1976; Michener and Lazell 1989; Ernst and Ernst 2003). Heterodon was not among the species listed in Smith’s (1835) first reptile catalogue from Hitchcock’s Report on the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts. Rather, it was first included in Storer’s (1840) list of native reptiles, based on a specimen from Medfield in the possession of Dr. J.E. Holbrook, author of North American Herpetology (1842). The species is also unquestionably native to Appendix A Page 3 several adjacent states including New Hampshire (Michener and Lazell 1989; LaGory et al. 2009), Connecticut (Klemens 1993), Rhode Island (Raithel 2015), and New York. Considering the larger biogeographic context, it appears indisputable that the species is native at least to the Connecticut, Blackstone, Taunton, Nashua, and Merrimack basins and the mainland coastal plain of Massachusetts. H. platirhinos is absent from suitable habitat on major offshore islands in New England (such as Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, etc.), suggesting the species colonized southern New England relatively late, and is not able to disperse long distances across seawater (see Lazell 1979). Several islands from which the species is known, such as Fire Island (NY) and Assateague Island (MD) (R. Cook, NPS, pers. comm.), and the Outer Banks (NC; Lazell 1979) were formerly spits of land connected to the mainland. I am not aware of fossil or subfossil remains of Heterodon in Massachusetts, which would more clearly substantiate the date of colonization in New England. (4) Habitat in Massachusetts. Is a population of the species supported by habitat within the state of Massachusetts? Extant populations are supported by the natural habitats of Massachusetts, including Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak (Pinus rigida-Quercus ilicifolia) associations, ericaceous scrub, and other forested and nonforested habitats of glacial lake deltas, glacial outwash plains, and eroded glacial sediments reorganized by longshore drift. The species is found naturally in both forested and nonforested habitats in Massachusetts and adjacent New Hampshire (Michener and Lazell 1989; LaGory et al. 2009; NHFG 2015; Mirick et al. 2016)(Figure 2, Figure 3). Wetlands are often a key habitat feature for H. platirhinos because they support populations of amphibian prey species, especially toads (R. Cook, NPS, pers. comm.). (5) Federal
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