Likely extirpated from AR; some historical records suspected to be released pets. Brown-mottled with light middorsal stripe. Built very flat with many spikes, especially on back of head. Tail very short. Cries blood as part of defense. 
Species of Greatest Conservation Need Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 9 records from 7 sources: 8 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 0 observation (
), with 1 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 0 of 75 counties (), with 5 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1930 to 2001.
This species may have had spotty historical occurrence along the Arkansas-Oklahoma border and in southern Arkansas, in association with prairie-like habitats and presence of harvester ant colonies. The few documented records, all but one dated prior to 1959, have unclear origins and may trace back to released pets. Scattered records from bordering states, including southwest Missouri (3 dated prior to 1966; Daniel and Edmond, 2020), western Oklahoma (1 undated and 2 from the 1930s; Sievert and Taggart, 2020), northeast Texas (unknown number or dates; Dixon, 2013), and northern Louisiana (3+ from 3 localities dated prior to 1966; Boundy and Carr, 2017), hold similar ambiguities. The only contemporary Arkansas record, from Garland County (ASUMZ 26446 from 2001), remains unexplained.
