- Nerodia fasciata
-
Southern water snake Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Suborder: Serpentes Family: Colubridae Subfamily: Natricinae Genus: Nerodia Species: N. fasciata Binomial name Nerodia fasciata
(Linnaeus, 1766)Synonyms Coluber fasciatus
Linnaeus, 1766
Tropidonotus fasciatus
Holbrook, 1842
Natrix fasciata
Blanchard, 1923The banded water snake or Southern water snake (Nerodia fasciata) is a species of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid snake found in the central and southeastern United States, from Indiana, south to Texas and east to Florida.
Contents
Description
The Southern water snake grows from 24 inches (61 cm) to 48 inches (120 cm), and is typically gray, green-gray or brown in color with dark cross-banding. Many specimens are so dark in color their patterning is barely discernible. They have a flat head, and are fairly heavy bodied. Their appearance leads them to be frequently mistaken for other snakes with which they share a habitat, including the less common cottonmouth.
Reproduction
The species is ovoviviparous.
Subspecies
There are three recognized subspecies of N. fasciata:
- Nerodia fasciata confluens (Blanchard, 1923)
- Nerodia fasciata fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Nerodia fasciata pictiventris (Cope, 1895)
Taxonomy
Some sources consider Nerodia clarkii compressicauda and Nerodia clarkii taeniata to be subspecies of Nerodia fasciata.
See also
References
- Species Nerodia fasciata at The Reptile Database
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Colubrids
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.