Reptiles

Garter snake after eating a meal.

NPS

From the iconic American alligator to the smallest green anole, reptiles of every shape and size make their home in Timucuan Preserve. The reptiles rangers get asked about above all others are snakes. The park is home to a variety of snakes, some threatened such as the eastern indigo snake, and others common, like the black racer. Snakes are essential to the park habitats and benefit humans by eating rats and other pests. Like all wild animals in the park, you should observe these beautiful creatures from a distance, as some are venomous. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, eastern coral snakes, and cottonmouths all live in the preserve.

 

A coachwhip and gopher tortoise at the burrows entrance.

NPS

Keep an Eye Out for Burrows

The most visible reptile in the park might be the gopher tortoise. Rangers have blocked off their burrows to help keep visitors from walking over and collapsing the up to twenty foot deep shelters. Gopher tortoises are commensal, sharing their burrows with burrowing owls, crickets, and even the threatened Eastern indigo snake. In fact, over 350 species benefit from the gopher tortoise and its burrows making it a keystone species.

 

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve

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Species attribute definitions

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