Farancia erytrogramma

Taxobox
name = Rainbow Snake
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Serpentes
familia = Colubridae
subfamilia = Xenodontinae
genus = "Farancia"
species = "F. erytrogramma"
binomial = "Farancia erytrogramma"
binomial_authority = Palisot de Beauvois, 1802
synonyms = "Coluber erythrogrammus"
Daudin, 1803
"Natrix erythrogrammus"
Merrem, 1820
"Homalopsis erythrogrammus"
Boie, 1827
"Helicops erythrogrammus"
Wagler, 1830
"Abastor erythrogrammus"
Gray, 1849
"Calopisma erythrogrammum"
Duméril, Bibron, Duméril, 1854
"Homolopsis parviceps"
Blyth, 1854
"Hydrops erythrogrammus"
Sclater, 1861
"Abastor erytrogrammus"
Theobald, 1868
"Abastor erythrogramus"
Cochran, 1952

Farancia erytrogramma (also known as the Rainbow Snake, and less commonly, the Eel Moccasin) is a large, non-venomous, highly-aquatic, colubrid snake found in coastal plains of the southeastern United States. "Erytrogramma" is Greek for red ("erythro") line ("gramma").

Description

Rainbow Snakes have smooth, glossy bluish-black back scales, with three red stripes. They have short tails, with a spiny tip which they sometimes use as a probe. Adults may show yellow coloration along the sides and on the head. They grow to a length of 36-44 inches, although some specimens have been recorded up to 60 inches in length. Females are larger than males.

Behavior

Rainbow snakes are rarely seen due to their secretive habits. They spend most of their lives in the water, hiding in aquatic vegetation or other forms of cover. They are strong swimmers, and also know how to burrow into mud and sand.

Rainbow snakes subsist mainly on eels, but also prey on small frogs, tadpoles and salamanders. They eat their prey alive, usually swallowing them head first.

Females usually lay their eggs in July, leaving them underground in sandy soil. A clutch consists of around 20 eggs on average, but large females may lay over 50. The young are hatched in late summer or fall.

Rainbow snakes are not aggressive when captured, and do not bite their captors.

Geographic range

Rainbow snakes are found in aquatic habitats ranging from cypress swamps and marshes to blackwater creeks, slow-moving streams, and sandy coastal plain, from southern Maryland to southeastern Louisiana, including eastern Virginia, southeastern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. A small population once inhabited the Lake Okeechobee region in southern Florida, but is presumed extinct.

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of "F. erytrogramma":

* Common Rainbow Snake, "Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma" (Palisot de Beauvois, 1802)
* Southern Florida Rainbow Snake, "Farancia erytrogramma seminola" (Neill, 1964)

References

*EMBL species|genus=Farancia|species=erytrogramma
* [http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/farery.htm University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory]
* [http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?s=030046 Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries]