- Nerodia fasciata pictiventris
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Florida banded water snake Florida banded 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 Subspecies: N. f. pictiventris Trinomial name Nerodia fasciata pictiventris
(Cope, 1895)Synonyms The Florida banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris), a subspecies of the Southern water snake (Nerodia fasciata), is a nonvenomous natricine colubrid.
Contents
Geographic range
The Florida banded water snake is endemic throughout Florida and southeastern Georgia. In addition, it has been introduced to Brownsville, Texas.[1] It has also established populations in Folsom, California (Balfour et al. 2007) and Harbor City, California (Fuller and Trevett 2006).
Description
Dorsally it is light brown or yellowish, with 26-35 reddish-brown to black crossbands. Ventrally it is yellow or white, with reddish-brown or black markings. In large adult individuals the ground color on the lower sides is sometimes darker than the crossbands, producing an appearance of alternating blotches on the back and sides.
The Florida water snake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris) differs from the Southern water snake (Nerodia f. fasciata) chiefly in the shape of the markings on the ventrals. In pictiventris these markings consist of transverse blotches, many of them enclosing an oval white spot. Whereas in fasciata they are solid squarish spots.[1]
Adults average 24 inches (61 cm) to 42 inches (110 cm) in length.
Reproduction
They are ovoviviparous. Mating occurs from March to May. The young are born from May to August, in broods of 25-57. The newborns are 180-223 mm(7-8¾ inches) in total length.[2]
Notes
- ^ Schmidt, K.P. and D.D. Davis. 1941. Fieldbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York.
- ^ Wright, A.H. and A.A. Wright. 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Comstock. Ithaca and London.
References
- Balfour, P.S., E.W. Stitt, and M.M. Fuller. 2007. Nerodia fasciata pictiventris (Florida water snake). Herpetological Review 38:363
- Fuller, M.M. and B.W. Trevett. 2006. Nerodia fasciata pictiventris (Florida water snake). Herpetological Review 37:363
External links
- Florida Banded Watersnake
- Southern Banded Water Snakes
- Nerodia fasciata pictiventris at the Encyclopedia of Life
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