Listed Species in Colquitt County
(updated July 2004)

SpeciesFederal StatusState StatusHabitatThreats
Bird 
Red-cockaded woodpecker

Picoides borealis
EENest in mature pine with low understory vegetation (<1.5m); forage in pine and pine hardwood stands > 30 years of age, preferably > 10" dbhReduction of older age pine stands and to encroachment of hardwood midstory in older age pine stands due to fire suppression
Wood stork 

Mycteria americana
EEPrimarily feed in fresh and brackish wetlands and nest in cypress or other wooded swampsDecline due primarily to loss of suitable feeding habitat, particularly in south Florida. Other factors include loss of nesting habitat, prolonged drought/flooding, raccoon predation on nests, and human disturbance of rookeries.
Reptile 
Alligator snapping turtle

Macroclemys temminckii
No Federal StatusTRivers, lakes, and large ponds near stream swamps.Destruction and modification of habitat and overharvesting.
Eastern indigo snake

Drymarchon corais couperi
TTDuring winter, den in xeric sandridge habitat preferred by gopher tortoises; during warm months, forage in creek bottoms, upland forests, and agricultural fields Habitat loss due to uses such as farming, construction, forestry, and pasture and to overcollecting for the pet trade
Gopher tortoise

Gopherus polyphemus

No Federal StatusTWell-drained, sandy soils in forest and grassy areas; associated with pine overstory, open understory with grass and forb groundcover, and sunny areas for nestingHabitat loss and conversion to closed canopy forests. Other threats include mortality on highways and the collection of tortoises for pets.
Invertebrate 
Ochlockonee moccasinshell

Medionidus simpsonianus
EEStable sandy and gravelly substrates in medium-
sized streams to large rivers, often in areas swept free of silt by the current.
Habitat modification, sedimentation, and water quality degradation
Oval pigtoe mussel

Pleurobema pyriforme

EERiver tributaries and main channels in slow to moderate currents over silty sand, muddy sand, sand, and gravel substrates Habitat modification, sedimentation, and water quality degradation
Shiny-rayed pocketbook mussel

Hamiota subangulata

EEMedium creeks to the mainstems of rivers with slow to moderate currents over sandy substrates and associated with rock or clay Habitat modification, sedimentation, and water quality degradation
Plant 
Parrot pitcher-plant

Sarracenia psittacina

No Federal StatusTAcid soils of open bogs, wet savannahs, and low areas in pine flatwoods. 
Pondspice

Litsea aestivalis

No Federal StatusTMargins of swamps, cypress ponds, and sandhill depression ponds and in hardwood swamps