Joseph C. Mitchell

Department of Biology

University of Richmond

Richmond, Virginia 23173

The Virginia naturalist John B. Lewis (1868-1957) wrote several unpublished manuscripts on amphibians and reptiles in the 1930s. These were based on natural history observations he made in southern Virginia while county extension agent in Amelia County and naturalist for the Seward Experimental Forest. The first one, on amphibians, published by Mitchell (1990), contained a brief biography of Lewis and a discussion of how his observations contributed to Virginia herpetology.

The second Lewis manuscript, published for the first time here, contains his observations on the reptiles of southern Virginia. Observations listed in this manuscript may have stemmed from Lewis' employment in 1937-1938 by the Wildlife Research Unit of (the then) Virginia Polytechnic University for whom he conducted plant and animal surveys in Amelia County (Lewis, 1940). Most of the observations are from Amelia, although others from earlier years and his residence in Brunswick County were included.

Lewis' observations provide information on several reptilian species in an area of Virginia that remains understudied. They allow an historical perspective on how these animals were perceived by naturalists and lay persons in the late 1930s or early 1940s when this manuscript was presumably written (the manuscript is undated). The manuscript is reproduced here in its entirety. Only misspellings have been corrected and current scientific names added in brackets where necessary.

"Order Squamata

Suborder Sauria

Not enough work has been done with the lizards to warrant an attempt to list them scientifically, with the exception of the one species given below.

Family Anguidae

Glass Snake, or Joint Snake, Ophisaurus ventralis [O. attenuatus]

Amelia. Three records since April 1930. August 12, 1931: A friend brought me a specimen that had been killed near Winterham. Its total length was 22.5 inches. Length from nose to vent, 12 inches. One and one fourth inches of the tail had evidently been recently renewed, as it was almost white and very blunt, though smooth.

June 30, 1933: I found a specimen on the bank of Amelia Branch a half mile below the village. It was not collected. It was about 20 inches long.

November 5, 1934: One was killed near Paineville and brought to the village. It had a section of the tail 4 1/4 inches long that was obviously a "second growth." There was a distinct shrinkage in diameter where it started and the color lines on the original part of the tail did not extend onto it.

Brunswick. About the same as Amelia. Rare if infrequency of records is any indication.

Suborder Serpentes

Family Colubridae

Horned Snake, Farancia abacura

Norfolk County [City of Norfolk]: August 17, 1904. A specimen was killed in a "fern brake" on the border of the Dismal Swamp, and was carefully studied. It was 4 feet 4 inches long. The tail ended in a hard, horny cone that was moderately sharp pointed. The negroes considered it a very deadly snake, who's venom is administered vis. the horn on the tail.

Ring-Necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus

Brunswick. Specimens taken occasionally under logs and chunks.

Norfolk. Same as for Brunswick.

Spreading Adder, Heterodon contortrix [Heterodon platirhinos]

Amelia. Fairly common as compared with the other snake populations, which is small.

Brunswick. Probably more numerous than in Amelia.

Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus

Amelia. Not common. I have probably seen on the average of two a year during my 8 summers here.

Brunswick. A green snake, probably of this species, was seen occasionally.

Norfolk. Green snakes, doubtless of this species, were more common than in Amelia and Brunswick.

Black Snake, "Blue Racer." Coluber constrictor

Amelia. One of our most common snakes.

Brunswick. Common

Pilot Black Snake, Elaphe obsoleta

Amelia. Our most numerous dry land snake.

Brunswick. Most numerous dry land snake. One killed near Meherrin River on east central Brunswick July 9, 1925 was 6 feet 11 inches long.

Chain Snake, Lampropeltis getulus getulus [Lampropeltis getula getula]

Amelia. One taken in south east part of county May 18, 1932.

Brunswick. No record.

Milk Snake, Lampropeltis triangulum

Amelia. A 41 inch specimen taken near Amelia Village May 15, 1931. Brunswick. A 33 inch specimen taken in south east part of county May 16, 1922.

Scarlet King Snake, Lampropeltis elapsoides var. virginiana [Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum x elapsoides intergrade]

Amelia. A 6 1/2 inch specimen taken in her dooryard by Mrs. Fred Robertson, in the Bracket's Bend section, north side of the county, was brought to me for identification Sept. 3, 1935. I traced it to this species, but to make sure it was not Micrurus fulvius, I sent it to Dr. Ditmars of the Bronx Zoo Park, who pronounced it Lampropeltis elapsoides virginiana.

Water Snake, Queen Snake, Natrix septemvittata [Regina septemvittata]

Amelia. Water snakes are common about ponds and streams but no specimens have been taken, so species are not known.

Brunswick. One collected Sept. 22, 1921.

Banded Water Snake, Natrix fasciata [Nerodia sipedon]

Brunswick. A 3 foot specimen taken March 29, 1922. Water snakes, probably of one or both these species are very common about ponds and streams.

Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis

Amelia. Garter snakes are seen occasionally, but have not been keyed out. They are probably of this species.

Brunswick. Not common. The two specimens keyed out were of this species.

Family Crotalidae [Viperidae]

Copperhead, Agkistrodon mokason [Agkistrodon contortrix mokason]

Ameila. Very rare. Only two seen in the eight summers spent in the county.

Brunswick. Locally common in woods, seeming to prefer low lands along streams. In January 1912 we moved to a farm that had been badly neglected and allowed to grow up with bushes and weeds. The next summer 6 copperheads were killed about the farm buildings and yard.

July 21, 1926: A specimen 41 1/2 inches long was killed in the Meherrin River lowgrounds in the east central part of the county.

Norfolk. Common in thickety places away from swamps.

Water Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscivorus

At the time of our residence on the border of the Dismal Swamp between Portsmouth and Suffolk, November 1903 to December 1911, these snakes were quite common in and around the border of swamp. I killed and closely examined a number of specimens during this time, most of which were taken along the headwaters of the western branch of the Elizabeth River, on the border of the swamp. It is an aggressively vicious snake, and probably more dangerous than the rattlesnake.

Diamond Rattlesnake, Crotalus adamanteus [Crotalus horridus atricaudatus]

Norfolk County. Rattlesnakes that I believe to have been of this species were fairly common in and around the border of the Dismal Swamp at the time of our residence there. In June 1905, while supervising a gang of colored laborers that were digging potatoes in a field on the edge of the swamp, a 4 foot rattler was located by the workers. Another white man and I captured it alive by getting forked sticks over its neck until a good grip could be had on its throat. While the other man held it I extracted its fangs and we kept it in a cage until new ones began to appear, when it was killed.

Order Testudinata

Suborder Cryptodira

Family Kinosternidae

Musk Turtle, Sternotherus odoratus

Amelia. Not common. Occasionally travels overland in early spring. One picked up on highway April 10, 1930.

Brunswick. Doubtless present, but none examined.

Mud Turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum

Amelia. Common in ponds and sluggish streams.

Brunswick. Common in ponds and sluggish streams.

Family Chelydridae

Snapping Turtles, Chelydra serpentina

Amelia. Abundant in the larger ponds and streams.

Brunswick. Common in the larger ponds and streams.

Family Testudinidae [Emydidae]

Speckled Tortoise, Clemmys guttata

Amelia. One specimen taken, Nibbs Creek, April 11, 1935.

Common Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina

Amelia. Common in woodlands.

Brunswick. Common in woodlands.

Painted Turtle, Cherysemys picta [Chrysemys picta]

Amelia. Common in ponds and swamps. Sometimes travels overland in spring.

Brunswick. Same as for Amelia.

Barred Terrapin, Pseudemys concinna

Brunswick. One caught in the Meherrin River just below the old Westward Mill dam, in the east central part of the county, July 6, 1927."

Discussion

Lewis noted on the last page of his manuscript that he had used the 13th edition (1929) of David Starr Jordan's field guide for the northeastern United States. Various editions of this book was used extensively by Lewis during most of his lifetime (Mitchell, 1990 and unpublished) and were apparently the only sources he used for field identification. Lewis appears not to have referred to the primary literature for his information on amphibians, reptiles, or any other animal group. His common and scientific names were from Jordan's field guides, although local vernacular names were included when he knew them.

Lewis apparently made only one incorrect identification, the canebrake rattlesnake as a diamondback. The nearest known locality for Crotalus adamanteus is in Jones County, North Carolina (A.L. Braswell and W.M. Palmer, pers. comm.). His misidentification was made in 1905 at a time when he was unfamiliar with Virginia's snakes.

All of the eight species of snakes Lewis observed in Amelia County, except one (Opheodrys aestivus), have been verified with museum specimens (Tobey, 1985; Mitchell and Pague, in prep.). Clifford (1976) provided the only literature record for rough green snakes. Lewis observed nine snake species in Brunswick County. Of these, five (Coluber constrictor, Diadophis punctatus, Heterodon platirhinos, Lampropeltis triangulum, and Nerodia septemvittata) are county literature records (Tobey, 1985; Mitchell and Pague, in prep.). The queen snake observation represents a substantial southeastward range extension (Tobey, 1985; Merkle, 1987) and should be verified.

One species of freshwater turtle, Clemmys guttata, seen by Lewis at Nibb's Creek, has not heretofore been recorded for Amelia County (Tobey, 1985; Mitchell and Pague, in prep.). Three commonly encountered species (Chelydra serpentina, Kinosternon subrubrum, and Terrapene carolina) were observed by Lewis in Brunswick County but were not recorded by Tobey (1985) or Mitchell and Pague, in prep.).

Comparisons of these observational records with museum based records (Tobey, 1985; Mitchell and Pague, in prep.) support the perception that southcentral Virginia has been inadequately surveyed. Numerous species of both amphibians (Mitchell, 1990) and reptiles (this paper) require permanent verification. Such surveys are today crucial endeavors because of the rate of habitat loss in many counties in this area of Virginia (Mitchell, pers. obs.).

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Christina Bolgiano for introducing me to the University of Virginia Archives where Lewis' manuscripts are housed among the papers of the Seward Forest Archives (#10,026). Permission to reproduce this manuscript was given by the Curator of Manuscripts/University Archivist of the Alderman Library.

Literature Cited

Clifford, M.J. 1976. Relative abundance and seasonal activity of snakes in Ameila County. Virginia Herpetol. Soc. Bull. 79:4-6.

Jordan, D.S. 1929. A Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States Inclusive of the Marine Species. 13th Edition, Yonkers on the Hudson, World Book Co., New York.

Lewis, J.B. 1940. Mammals of Ameila County, Virginia. J. Mammal. 21:422-428.

Merkle, D.A. 1987. New county records for the queen snake Regina septemvittata in the central Piedmont of Virginia. Catesbeiana 7:19-20.

Mitchell, J.C. 1990. Contributions to the history of Virginia herpetology I: John B. Lewis' "List of amphibians observed in Amelia, Brunswick and Norfolk Counties." Catesbeiana 10:3-9.

Tobey, F.J. 1985. Virginia's Amphibians and Reptiles, A Distributional Survey. Privately Printed, VA Herpetol. Soc., Purcellville, VA. 114 pp.