NORTHWEST FAUNA OCCASIONAL MONOGRAPHS ON VERTEBRATE NATURAL HISTORY NUMBER THREE 1995 First printing of a significant historical work by Murray L. Johnson: REPTILES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON (1954) NORTHWEST FAUNA NUMBER 3 PREPARED BY William P. Leonard and MEMBERS OF THE PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE: Keith B. Aubry, Chair Paul Stephen Corn Richard E. Johnson Robert M. Storm PUBUSHEDBY SOCIETY FOR NORTHWESTERN VERTEBRATE BIOLOGY Price $10 (U.S.) Submit order to: Janet Jones, Treasurer Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology 4820 Yelm Highway SE Suite B 175 Olympia, W A 98503 Printed in Hong Kong by Mantee Production Company NORTHWEST FAUNA 3:1-2 1995 PREFACE Dr. Murray L. J obnson is a retired surgeon who spent his professional career in Tacoma, Washington. He is probably best known to a wide circle of biologists as a mam­ malogist, and be continues to be active in that field. He bas recently named a sibling species of the red tree vole as Arborimus pomo . He served as Curator of Mammals at the Slater Museum, University of Puget Sound (formerly College of Puget Sound), from 1948 to 1983, and bas helped curate mammal specimens at the Burke Museum in Seattle (University of Washington) since 1983. At College of Puget Sound, Murray worked with such notables as James Slater, Gordon Alcorn, John Stipp and others. In addition to careers in medicine and mammalogy, this remarkable man bas done significant work in the field of herpetology. The outstanding collection of reptiles at the University of Puget Sound Slater Museum owes its existence largely to him. In published papers in 1942 and 1947, Murray resurrected the subspecies Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringi, separated Thamnophis elegans from Thamnophis ordinoides and named the subspecies Thamnophis elegans nigrescens (see bibliography this paper). The present paper was originally written in 1954, and one may ask why it should be published some 40-plus years later. A perusal of the paper's contents will soon reveal to the reader that nothing published since 1954 can match the wealth of accurate and detailed information on Washington reptiles contained in this paper. It represents a valuable contribu­ tion to the herpetological literature of the Pacific Northwest. It bas been published exactly as it was written in 1954. The table immediately following this preface provides the reader with updated common and scientific names according to Collins, J. T., 1990, Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles: Herpetological Circular No. 19. Robert M. Storm 1623 SW Brooklane Corvallis, Oregon 97333 1 CuRRENT NoMENCLATURE oF REPTILES IN TIIE STATE oF WASHINGTON Scientific Name, 1954 Paper Common Name, 1954 Paper Scientific Name, Collins, 1990 Common name, Collins, 1990 V) 0\ Sceloporus graciosus gracilis Sand Lizard Same Northern Sagebrush Lizard 0\ ...... Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis Pacific Blue-bellied Lizard Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis Northwestern Fence Lizard and Sceloporus o. longipes Great Basin Fence Lizard Uta stansburiana stansburiana Northern Brown-shouldered Same Northern Side-blotched Lizard Lizard Phrynosoma orbiculare douglassii Pigmy Homed-lizard Phrynosoma douglassii douglassii Pigmy Short-homed Lizard Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos Desert Homed-lizard Same Northern Desert Homed Lizard Gerrhonotus coeruleus principis Northern Alligator Lizard Elgaria coerulea principis Same Gerrhonotus multicarinatus scincicauda Western Alligator Lizard Elgaria multicarinata scincicauda Oregon Alligator Lizard Eumeces skiltonianus skiltonianus Western Blue-tailed Lizard Same Western Skink ~ <:: Charina bottae plumbea Northwestern Rubber Snake Charina bottae Rubber Boa z Diadophis amabilis occidentalis Northwestern Ring-necked Snake Diadophis punctatus occident alis Northwestern Ringneck Snake ~ <:: Co tuber constrictor mormon Western Yellow-bellied Racer Same Western Y ellowbelly Racer {.I.. Coluber taeniatus taeniatus Western Striped Racer Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus Desert Striped Whipsnake E-< Pituophis catenifer catenifer Coast Gopher Snake Same Pacific Gopher Snake Cll ~ Pituophis catenifer deserticola Desert Gopher Snake Same Great Basin Gopher Snake Lampropeltis multicincta multicincta Western Coral King Snake Lampropeltis zonata California Mountain ~ King snake ~ Sharp-tailed Snake Same Sharptail Snake 0 Contia tenuis z Thamnophis elegans nigrescens Dusky Garter Snake Same Same Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter Snake Same Same Thamnophis ordinoides Puget Garter Snake Same Northwestern Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus One-striped Garter Snake Same Red-spotted Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis pickeringi Nisqually Garter Snake Same Puget Sound Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis trilineata Three-striped Garter Snake Joined with T s. pickeringi Puget Sound Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia Northwestern Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis fit chi Valley Garter Snake Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha Spotted Night Snake Hypsiglena torquato Desert Night Snake Crotalus viridis oreganus Pacific Rattlesnake Same Northern Pacific Rattlesnake Clemmys mannorata mannorata Pacific Terrapin Same Northwestern Pond Turtle Chrysemys picta bellii Western Painted Turtle Same Same N NORTHWEST FAUNA 3:5-80 1995 REPTILES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON (1954) MURRAY L. JoHNSON Slater Museum University of Puget Sound Tacoma , Washington 98416 Present Address: 501 N. Tacoma Avenue Tacoma, Washington 98403 Dedicated to the menwry of Professor James R. Slater Professor James R. Slater (Photo by Keith R. Bauer, courtesy of the Slater Museum, University of Puget Sound) 3 £ 'M3E!WflN VNflVd .LStiA\RL110N 1995 JOHNSON: REPTILES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................. ... .. ......... .................... ...................................... 6 Acknowledgments .. ......... ............................................................................. ... .. ............... .... 6 History ............... ........................................ ... .. ................ .... ......... .. ........................ ............ ... 7 Distributional Discussion ....................................................................... ............... ................ 8 Systematic List of Washington Reptiles .......... ................................................. ................... 10 Key to the Reptilia in the State of Washington .................................................................... 12 Accounts of Species .. ............................. .. ..................... ........................................................ 15 Sceloporus graciosus gracilis ... .. ............. .................................. ...................................... .. ... 16 Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis .................... ......... .. ..................... ........................... .... 18 Uta stansburiana stansburiana ........... .. .......... ..................................................................... 21 Phrynosoma orbiculare douglassii .......................... ......................................... .. ................. 23 Phrynosoma platyrhinos platy rhinos .................................. ........ .. ................... ... ..... .......... .. 25 Gerrhonotus coeruleus principis ........... ... .. ....................................... .. ......... ....................... 26 Gerrhonotus multicarinatus scincicauda ...................................................... ...................... 29 Eumeces skiltonianus skiltonianus .. ........................ .. .......... .. ....... ...................... .. ............... 31 Char ina bottae plumbea ....................................................................................................... 34 Diadoplzis amabilis occidentalis .......................................................................................... 36 Co tuber constrictor mormon ... ............................................................................................. 37 Co tuber taeniatus taeniatus ................................................. .... ..... ........................................ 39 Pituophis catenifer catenifer ...... ... ....................................................................................... 40 Pituoplzis catenifer deserticola ................................................................................. ........... 42 Lamp rope/tis multicincta .................................................... ................................................... 44 Contia tenuis ............................................. ...... ...................................................................... 45 Identification Key for the Garter Snakes of Washington ..................................................... 46 Thamnophis elegans nigrescens ...................................................................... ..................... 47 Tlzamnophis elegans vagrans ............................................................................................... 49 Thamnophis ordinoides ordinoides ...... ................................................................................ 51 Thamnophis sirtalis subspecies ..................................... ........................................................ 55 Tlzamnophis sirtalis concinnus ....................... ... ....... .. .......................................................... 56