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 |
|
The 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 |
[edit] 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.
[edit] Reproduction
The species is ovoviviparous.
[edit] Subspecies
There are three recognized subspecies of N. fasciata:
- Nerodia fasciata confluens (Blanchard, 1923)
- Nerodia fasciata fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Nerodia fasciata pictiventris (Cope, 1895)
[edit] Taxonomy
Some sources consider Nerodia clarkii compressicauda and Nerodia clarkii taeniata to be subspecies of Nerodia fasciata.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Species Nerodia fasciata at The Reptile Database
[edit] External links
 |
Wikispecies has information related to: Nerodia fasciata |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nerodia fasciata |
