Bronze with broad, brown, lateral stripe thinly bordered with white. Scales smooth and shiny. One postmental scale. Juveniles black with bright blue tail. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 335 records from 35 sources: 291 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 15 observation (
), with 29 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 51 of 75 counties (), with 4 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1897 to present.
This species occurs throughout the Interior Highlands and South Central Plains. Scattered historical records from the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, such as Swifton, Jackson County (ASUMZ 1183 from 1963); Jonesboro, Craighead County (ASUMZ 1857 from 1973); and De Valls Bluff, Prairie County (KU 8859 and 8861 from 1926) may warrant confirmation. An additional isolated point locality at Village Creek State Park, Cross County (Trauth et al., 2004), remains unsourced. While this infrequently encountered species likely occupies the entirety of Crowley’s Ridge, evidence is lacking.
