''Opheodrys aestivus'', commonly known as the rough green snake, is a
nonvenomous North American
colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ev ...
. It is sometimes called grass snake or green grass snake, but these names are more commonly applied to the smooth green snake (''
Opheodrys vernalis''). The European
colubrid
Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ev ...
called
grass snake
The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
Subspecies
Many subspecies are recogniz ...
(''
Natrix natrix
The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.
Subspecies
Many subspecies are recogni ...
'') is unrelated. The rough green snake is docile, often allowing close approach by humans, and seldom bites. Even when bites occur, they have no venom and are harmless.
Description
![Rough Green Snake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Rough_Green_Snake.jpg)
The rough green snake (''Opheodrys aestivus'') is bright green above and has a yellowish belly, affording it excellent camouflage in green vegetation and making them difficult to see in the wild even though they are relatively common in their habitat. It has keeled
dorsal scales
In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales
In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down t ...
, which are arranged in 17 rows at mid-body. It grows up to in total length (including tail) and is very thin.
Geographic range
The rough green snake ranges throughout the
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
, from Florida, north to coastal Maine, Indiana, and west to
Central Texas. The snake is commonly found in the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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and
Atlantic coastal plain
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
, but is not found in the higher elevations of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
. It is also found in northeastern Mexico, including the state of
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
and eastern
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
.
Habitat and behavior
The preferred habitat of ''O. aestivus'' is moist meadows and woodlands, often near water. It is highly arboreal, frequently found climbing in low vegetation, and is also a good swimmer. However, it is often found on the ground as well. Unlike many snakes, it is largely
diurnal. At night it is found coiled in the branches of trees. Preference is given to perches based upon distance from the shoreline, height of branches, and thickness of the individual branch.
Diet
The diet of ''O. aestivus'' consists mostly of
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and other terrestrial
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s, but some snails and tree frogs are eaten as well. This snake is not a constrictor; most prey are grabbed and simply swallowed alive. ''O. aestivus'' has been shown to rely heavily on visual cues for prey detection and to prefer living prey items. As foraging activity increases, the
tongue evolves greater elongation and deeper forking, and the abundance of chemoreceptors increases in the vomeronasal organs, the chemosenory responsiveness is adjusted to match diet and orthopterans constitute 16.9% and arthropods about 98% of dietary volume of the rough green snake.
Rough green snakes exhibit greater chemosensory investigation of chemical cues from their insect prey than from representatives of several other taxa because of the linked importance of insects to their diet.
Predation
Predators of the rough green snake include birds and other snakes, such as the eastern racer (''
Coluber constrictor
The eastern racer (''Coluber constrictor'') is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America and Central America. Eleven subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized, whic ...
'') and the eastern king snake (''
Lampropeltis getula
''Lampropeltis getula'', commonly known as the eastern kingsnake, Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. (First published in 1958). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 42 ...
''). They can also be infected by parasites including the Cryptosporidium species. The rough green snake also does not exhibit any predator-resistance capabilities besides fleeing. They often undergo a lot of stress due to human presence.
Reproduction
The male rough green snake reaches sexual maturity at an age of 2 around 245 mm long. For the male, plasma androgen levels and the diameter of the sexual segment of the kidney
have a bimodal cycle with one peak in the spring and the second in late summer. Spermatogenesis occurs in June, reaching its peak in July and August. This is a post-nupital cycle. The rough green snake breeds in spring, and sometimes again in fall. Courtship behavior expressed by males include head-jerking, tail waving, and chin-rubbing. Males align copulatory organs with females in an average of 2 minutes and 45 seconds, and copulation averages 16 minutes and 4 seconds. Females lay 2-14 eggs, occasionally in a communal nest shared by more than one female. Up to 75 eggs have been found in one such nest. The nest site varies: under boards, under bark in rotting stumps, in deep mulch, or under a rock. Hatchlings from spring breeding typically emerge in August or September, and each is about in total length. Male rough green snakes reach sexual maturity in two years. At maturity, males begin storing abundant amounts of sperm in their vas deferens. They are able to mate in the spring of the next year (year 3 of life).
[Plummer, M. V., Greenhaw, J. J., & Aldridge, R. D. (1990). The male reproductive cycle of the rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus). Amphibia-Reptilia, 11(2), 165-172.]
Conservation status
The rough green snake is widespread and is not of
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
concern, in general. However, urban development, especially the reduction of vegetation near waterways, may reduce their numbers. Many are
killed on roads, and they may be susceptible to poisoning by pesticides used on their
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
prey. When dead, they turn blue. It is also one of the most exploited pet snakes in North America. ''O. aestivus'' are collected by the hundreds each year.
Subspecies
*''Opheodrys aestivus aestivus'' – northern rough green snake
*''Opheodrys aestivus carinatus'' – Florida rough green snake
References
External links and further reading
*Aardema et al
Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina€”accessed 29 May 2006
*
Conant, Roger et al. (1998). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America''. Third Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. .
*Cook, Will
Carolina Nature€”accessed 29 May 2006.
*
Gibbons, Whit, Michael E. Dorcas (2005). ''Snakes Of The Southeast''. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. .
*
Linnaeus, C. (1766). ''Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, diferentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Duodecima, Reformata''
welfth Edition, Revised Stockholm: L. Salvius. 532 pp. (''Coluber æstivus'', new species, p. 387.) (in Latin.)
*Martof et al. (1980). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. .
*Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C.S. Parr, T. Jones, G.S. Hammond, and T.A. Dewey (2006)
Animal Diversity Web Accessed May 29, 2006.
*Palmer, William M., Alvin L. Braswell, Renaldo Kuhler (1995). ''Reptiles of North Carolina''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. .
*
Powell, Robert, Roger Conant,
Joseph T. Collins (2016). ''Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. . (''Opheodrys aestivus'', p. 382 + Plate 35).
*
Schmidt, K.P., and
D.D. Davis (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (''Opheodrys aestivus'', pp. 118–120, Figure 27. + p. 332, Plate 12.)
*University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecological Laboratory
Animal Fact Sheets€”accessed 1 June 2006
*University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecological Laboratory
€”accessed 1 June 2006
*
Wright, A.H., and A.A. Wright (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock. 1105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (''Opheodrys aestivus'', pp. 551–555, Map 43., Figure 164.)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q426062
Opheodrys
Reptiles described in 1766
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Fauna of the Eastern United States
Fauna of the Southeastern United States
Reptiles of the United States
Reptiles of Mexico