The green water snake (''Nerodia cyclopion'') is a common

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of nonvenomous natricine

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Geographic range

''N. cyclopion'' is distributed from the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

panhandle westward to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and northward through the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

into southern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Stejneger, L., and T. Barbour (1917). ''A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (''Natrix cyclopion'', pp. 94-95). More precisely, it is found in southwestern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, southeastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, northwestern Florida, southern Illinois, southwestern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, western

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, Louisiana, southern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, southeastern

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, western

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and southeastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. The type locality is

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Louisiana.

Description

''N. cyclopion'' differs from most other species of 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, a character shared only with the species ''N. floridana''. A heavy-bodied snake, ''N. cyclopion'' is dark green, olive, or brown

dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

. Ventrally, it is yellowish on the anterior third, and the on remainder dark brown with yellow or white semicircles. 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. (''Natrix cyclopion cyclopion'', pp. 215-216, Figure 70 + Plate 23, top, on p. 343). ''N. cyclopion'' averages 76–140 cm (30-55 inches) in total length (including tail). Conant, R. (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. (paperback). (''Natrix cyclopion cyclopion'', pp. 139-140 + Plate 21 + Map 105).

Habitat

''N. cyclopion'' prefers still waters such as bayous,

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es,

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

s, sluggish streams, and swamps. It is sometimes found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water.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''. (with 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (''Natrix cyclopion cyclopion'', pp. 90-91).

Diet

The green water snake preys upon crayfish,

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s, and

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

Subspecies

The former subspecies, ''Nerodia cyclopion floridana'' (

Goff Goff is a surname with several distinct origins, mainly Germanic, Celtic, Jewish, and French. It is the 946th most common family name in the United States. When the surname originates from England it is derived from an occupational name from G ...

, 1936) - Florida green water snake, has been elevated to a full species, '' Nerodia floridana''.

Reproduction

Green Water Snake, (Nerodia cyclopion) Florida

The green water snake is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

. 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 lb). Wright, A.H., and A.A. Wright (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada.'' Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). (''Natrix cylopion cyclopion'', pp. 472-475, Figure 139 + Map 38 on p. 467).

Geographic range

Description

Habitat

Diet

Subspecies

Reproduction

References

External links

Further reading