Green water snake
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| Nerodia cyclopion in Arkansas | |
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N. cyclopion
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| Binomial name | |
| Nerodia cyclopion |
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The green water snake (Nerodia cyclopion) is a common species of nonvenomous natricine snake endemic to the southeastern United States.
Contents
Geographic range
It is distributed from Florida westward to Louisiana, and northward through the Mississippi Valley into southern Illinois.[5]
More precisely, it is found in southwestern Alabama, southeastern Arkansas, Florida, southeastern Georgia, southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana, western Kentucky, Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, southern South Carolina, western Tennessee, and southeastern Texas.[6]
The type locality is New Orleans, Louisiana.[5]
Description
This species differs from all other North American water snakes by having one or more small scales under the eye, giving the appearance of a ring of small plates around the eye.
These heavy-bodied snakes are dark green, olive, or brown dorsally. Ventrally, they are yellowish on the anterior third, and the on remainder they are dark brown with yellow or white semicircles.[3]
They average 76–140 cm (30-55 in.) in total length; record, 188 cm (74 in.) for a specimen of N. c. floridana.[7]
Habitat
N. cyclopion prefers still waters such as bayous, lakes, marshes, ponds, sluggish streams, and swamps. It is sometimes found in brackish water.[8]
Diet
It preys upon crayfish, frogs, and fish.[8]
Subspecies
- Nerodia cyclopion cyclopion (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) - green water snake
- Nerodia cyclopion floridana (Goff, 1936) - Florida green water snake (sometimes considered a full species)
Reproduction
Green water snakes are ovoviviparous. Mating takes place on land in April. The young are born in July or August, and are about 25 cm (10 in.) long. Brood size varies from 7 to 101, depending on the size of the female. The females, which are larger than the males and have two more dorsal scale rows, may weigh over 4.1 kg (9 lbs.).[6]
Source and external link
- Species Nerodia cyclopion at The Reptile Database
References
- ↑ ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov
- ↑ Boulenger, G.A. 1893. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families...Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural HIstory). (Taylor and Francis, Printers.) London. xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I.- XXVIII. (Tropidonotus cyclopium [sic], pp. 244-245.)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Schmidt, K.P., and D.D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York. xiii + 365 pp. (Natrix cyclopion, pp. 215-217, Figure 70. + Plate 23, Top, on p. 343.)
- ↑ Smith, H.M., and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (paperback). ( (Nerodia cyclopion) pp. 154-155.)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Stejneger, L., and T. Barbour. 1917. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. iv + 125 pp. (Natrix cyclopion, pp. 94-95.)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wright, A.H., and A.A. Wright. 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Comstock. Ithaca and London. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Natrix cylopion, pp. 472-477, Figures 139. & 140. + Map 38. on p. 467.)
- ↑ Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. xviii + 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Natrix cyclopion, pp. 139-141 + Plate 21 + Map 105.)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Conant, R., and W. Bridges. 1942. What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. Appleton-Century. New York and London. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (Natrix cyclopion cyclopion, pp. 90-91; Natrix cyclopion floridana, pp. 91-92 + Plate 15, Figure 43.)
Further reading
- Duméril, A.-M.-C., G. Bibron and A. Duméril. 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles, Tome septième.—Première partie. Comprenant l'histoire des serpents non venimeux. (=General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of Reptiles, Volume 7.—Part 1. Containing the [Natural] History of Nonvenomous Snakes). Roret. Paris. xvi + 780 pp. (Tropidonotus cyclopion, pp. 576–577.)
- Goff, C.C. 1936. Distribution and Variation of a New Species of Water Snake, Natrix cyclopion floridana, with a Discussion of its Relationships. Occasional Papers. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan (327): 1-12.
- Morris, Percy A. 1948. Boy's Book of Snakes: How to Recognize and Understand Them. A volume of the Humanizing Science Series, edited by Jacques Cattell. Ronald Press. New York. viii + 185 pp. ("The Green Water Snake", pp. 82–84, 180.)
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