Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Thamnophis proximus proximus
Western Ribbon Snake

Iroquois Co., Illinois. July 23, 1996

Rick Milas and I found this snake up in the sand country of Iroquois county, and it represents a county record.  There are two easy field marks for proximus - the orange vertebral stripes, and the two large white marks on the parietal scales (paired on top of head, posterior).

This snake primarily occurs west of the Mississippi, but it also follows river systems into Illinois and Wisconsin, and the sand country around Lake Michigan.  We find them in Union County down in southern Illinois, and the Eastern Ribbons occur in Johnson County, the next county over.  T

The bottom photo is a proximus from Union Co. in southern Illinois.