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Banded water snake

May 03, 2024

The banded water snake or southern water snake (Nerodia fasciata) is a species of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid snakes most commonly found in the Midwest, Southeastern United States.

Banded water snake
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Nerodia
Species:
N. fasciata
Binomial name
Nerodia fasciata
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms[4]
  • Coluber fasciatus Linnaeus, 1766
  • Natrix fasciata subsp. confluens Blanchard, 1923
  • Natrix fasciata subsp. pictiventris Cope, 1895
  • Natrix sipedon subsp. engelsi Barbour, 1943
  • Natrix sipedon subsp. fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Nerodia sipedon subsp. fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)
  • Tropidonotus bisectus Cope
  • Natrix fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)[2]
  • Natrix sipedon fasciata (Linnaeus, 1766)[3]
A Nerodia fasciata attempting to prey on a parvalbumin-coated lure. Parvalbumin is involved in prey signaling.[5]
An unusual reddish specimen of banded water snake.

Geographic range edit

N. fasciata is natively found from southern Illinois, south to Louisiana, and east to North Carolina and Florida. Introduced populations exist in Texas and California;[1] other sources include eastern Texas in its natural range.[6] In 1992, its congener Nerodia sipedon (northern or common water snake) and it were found in three sites in California by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In 2009, more than 300 banded water snakes were caught in suburbs of Los Angeles by the Nerodia Working Group of USFWS. Then in May 2016, the species was found in the Colorado River basin near Yuma, Arizona. Further trapping did indeed catch large numbers of them, indicating that a thriving invasive population exists in that area.[7][8][9]

Description edit

Adults of the banded water snake typically range from 56 to 107 cm (22 to 42 in) in total length, with a record size (in the Florida subspecies) of 159 cm (62.5 in) in total length.[10]

It is typically gray, greenish-gray, or brown in color, with dark crossbanding. Many specimens are so dark in color that their patterning is barely discernible. The ventrum (belly) is typically an off-white to white. They have flat heads, and are fairly heavy-bodied. Banded water snakes may also be identified by a dark stripe which extends from the eye to the angle of the jaw. If irritated, they release a foul-smelling musk to deter predators.[citation needed] This species also exhibits sexual dimorphism in which the female is generally longer and heavier than the male.[11] The average frequency of skin shedding has been found to be every four weeks.[12]

Their appearance leads them to be frequently mistaken for other snakes with which they share a habitat, including the venomous cottonmouth.

Habitat edit

N. fasciata inhabits most freshwater environments such as lakes, marshes, ponds, and streams.[13] Banded water snakes are active both day and night and may be seen basking on logs or branches overhanging the water or foraging in shallow water.[14] They will typically stay within emergent vegetation along the shoreline or in the shallow littoral zone of their habitat. [15]

Diet edit

The species preys mainly on fish and frogs.[16] On occasion, they prey on small turtles, small snakes, birds, earthworms, and crawfish.[17] Juveniles mainly consume fish and shift towards eating frogs as adults. This shift may be caused by large frogs being mechanically too difficult for juveniles to consume (which may suggest juveniles may be unable to open their jaws wide enough for adult frogs), because large frogs are energetically too costly for juveniles to catch, or because juveniles are at risk if swallowing prey requires a long time.[18] Individuals less than 500 mm snout–vent length (SVL) primarily consume relatively light mosquito fish and topminnows, whereas individuals exceeding 500 mm SVL begin taking massive bufonid (toad) and ranid (frog) prey.[19]

Using its vomeronasal organ, also called Jacobson's organ, the snake can detect parvalbumins in the cutaneous mucus of its prey.[5]

Reproduction edit

The species is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young.[6] The brood size varies from 15 to 20 young born in late July or August.[14] Newborns are 200–240 mm (about 8.0–9.5 in) in total length.[20] The banded water snake is able to hybridize with the common watersnake, although this is not frequent. Physical characteristics are insufficient to distinguish such hybrids, and DNA analysis is required. [21]

Predator avoidance edit

When threatened, banded water snakes flatten their bodies to appear larger and emit a foul musk from their anal glands, and bite repeatedly. They will slash sideways when biting to tear the flesh of the attacker. [22]

Subspecies edit

The three recognized subspecies of N. fasciata, including the nominotypical subspecies, are:[6]

Taxonomy edit

Some older sources have considered Nerodia fasciata to be a subspecies of Nerodia sipedon.[6][3][20][24]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Nerodia fasciata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007: e.T62237A12583389. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T62237A12583389.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ 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 fasciatus, pp. 242–244.)
  3. ^ a b Stejneger, L., and T. Barbour. 1917. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 125 pp. (Natrix sipedon fasciata, p. 96.)
  4. ^ "Nerodia fasciata". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Smargiassi, M. T.; Daghfous, G.; Leroy, B.; Legreneur, P.; Toubeau, G.; Bels, V.; Wattiez, R. (2012). "Chemical basis of prey recognition in thamnophiine snakes: the unexpected new roles of parvalbumins". PLOS ONE. 7 (6): e39560. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...739560S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039560. PMC 3384659. PMID 22761824.
  6. ^ a b c d Nerodia fasciata at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 26 April 2024.
  7. ^ . Fws.gov. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. ^ "California Nerodia Watch". iNaturalist.org. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Florida Watersnake - Nerodia fasciata pictiventris". Californiaherps.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Southern Watersnake Nerodia fasciata". Florida snake ID guide. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  11. ^ Semlitsch, Raymond D.; Gibbons, J. Whitfield (21 December 1982). "Body size dimorphism and sexual selection in two species of water snakes". Copeia. 1982 (4): 974. doi:10.2307/1444113. JSTOR 1444113.
  12. ^ Brown, E. E. (1956). "Frequency of Skin Shedding in the Northern Banded Water Snake". Herpetologica. 12 (4): 313–320. ISSN 0018-0831.
  13. ^ 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 fasciata fasciata, p. 146 + Plate 20 + Map 100.)
  14. ^ a b "Species Profile: Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) | SREL Herpetology". srelherp.uga.edu. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  15. ^ Camper, & Chick, L. D. (2010). Seasonal Variation in the Spatial Ecology of the Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata fasciata). Herpetologica, 66(4), 464–475. https://doi.org/10.1655/09-029.1
  16. ^ Conant, R., and W. Bridges. 1939. What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. D. Appleton-Century. New York and London. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1–32. (Natrix sipedon fasciata, p. 103 + Plate 18, Figure 53.)
  17. ^ "Nerodia fasciata (Southern Water Snake)".
  18. ^ Vincent, S.E.; Shine, R.; Herrel, A. (2006). "The functional meaning of "prey size" in water snakes (Nerodia fasciata, Colubridae)". Oecologia. 147 (2): 204–211. Bibcode:2006Oecol.147..204V. doi:10.1007/s00442-005-0258-2. PMID 16237539. S2CID 13080210.
  19. ^ Vincent, Shawn E.; Moon, Brad R.; Herrel, Anthony; Kley, Nathan J. (2007). "Are ontogenetic shifts in diet linked to shifts in feeding mechanics? Scaling of the feeding apparatus in the banded watersnake Nerodia fasciata". Journal of Experimental Biology. 210 (12): 2057–2069. doi:10.1242/jeb.02779.
  20. ^ a b 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 sipedon fasciata, pp. 525–529, Figure 156.)
  21. ^ Mebert, Konrad (2003). Hybridization between the watersnakes Nerodia sipedon and Nerodia fasciata, in the Carolinas: A morphological and molecular approach (PhD thesis). Old Dominion University. doi:10.25777/658k-4603.
  22. ^ “Snakes.” Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina, https://herpsofnc.org/banded-watersnake/.
  23. ^ Powell, R., Conant, R., Collins, J. T., Conant, I. H., Johnson, T. R., Hooper, E. D., Taggart, T. W., Conant, R., & Collins, J. T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and amphibians of Eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  24. ^ 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. 365 pp. (Natrix sipedon fasciata, pp. 221–222, Figure 72. + Plate 24, Center, on p. 344.)

Other sources edit

  • Herps of Texas: Nerodia fasciata

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nerodia fasciata.
  • Florida Watersnake – Nerodia fasciata pictiventris

Further reading edit

  • Linnaeus, C. 1766. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Duodecima, Reformata. L. Salvius. Stockholm. 532 pp. (Coluber fasciatus, p. 378.)

May 03, 2024
banded, water, snake, banded, water, snake, southern, water, snake, nerodia, fasciata, species, mostly, aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid, snakes, most, commonly, found, midwest, southeastern, united, states, conservation, status, least, concern, iucn, scientific. The banded water snake or southern water snake Nerodia fasciata is a species of mostly aquatic nonvenomous colubrid snakes most commonly found in the Midwest Southeastern United States Banded water snake Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Squamata Suborder Serpentes Family Colubridae Genus Nerodia Species N fasciata Binomial name Nerodia fasciata Linnaeus 1766 Synonyms 4 Coluber fasciatus Linnaeus 1766Natrix fasciata subsp confluens Blanchard 1923Natrix fasciata subsp pictiventris Cope 1895Natrix sipedon subsp engelsi Barbour 1943Natrix sipedon subsp fasciata Linnaeus 1766 Nerodia sipedon subsp fasciata Linnaeus 1766 Tropidonotus bisectus CopeNatrix fasciata Linnaeus 1766 2 Natrix sipedon fasciata Linnaeus 1766 3 source source source source A Nerodia fasciata attempting to prey on a parvalbumin coated lure Parvalbumin is involved in prey signaling 5 An unusual reddish specimen of banded water snake Contents 1 Geographic range 2 Description 3 Habitat 4 Diet 5 Reproduction 6 Predator avoidance 7 Subspecies 8 Taxonomy 9 References 10 Other sources 11 External links 12 Further readingGeographic range editN fasciata is natively found from southern Illinois south to Louisiana and east to North Carolina and Florida Introduced populations exist in Texas and California 1 other sources include eastern Texas in its natural range 6 In 1992 its congener Nerodia sipedon northern or common water snake and it were found in three sites in California by the US Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS In 2009 more than 300 banded water snakes were caught in suburbs of Los Angeles by the Nerodia Working Group of USFWS Then in May 2016 the species was found in the Colorado River basin near Yuma Arizona Further trapping did indeed catch large numbers of them indicating that a thriving invasive population exists in that area 7 8 9 Description editAdults of the banded water snake typically range from 56 to 107 cm 22 to 42 in in total length with a record size in the Florida subspecies of 159 cm 62 5 in in total length 10 It is typically gray greenish gray or brown in color with dark crossbanding Many specimens are so dark in color that their patterning is barely discernible The ventrum belly is typically an off white to white They have flat heads and are fairly heavy bodied Banded water snakes may also be identified by a dark stripe which extends from the eye to the angle of the jaw If irritated they release a foul smelling musk to deter predators citation needed This species also exhibits sexual dimorphism in which the female is generally longer and heavier than the male 11 The average frequency of skin shedding has been found to be every four weeks 12 Their appearance leads them to be frequently mistaken for other snakes with which they share a habitat including the venomous cottonmouth Habitat editN fasciata inhabits most freshwater environments such as lakes marshes ponds and streams 13 Banded water snakes are active both day and night and may be seen basking on logs or branches overhanging the water or foraging in shallow water 14 They will typically stay within emergent vegetation along the shoreline or in the shallow littoral zone of their habitat 15 Diet editThe species preys mainly on fish and frogs 16 On occasion they prey on small turtles small snakes birds earthworms and crawfish 17 Juveniles mainly consume fish and shift towards eating frogs as adults This shift may be caused by large frogs being mechanically too difficult for juveniles to consume which may suggest juveniles may be unable to open their jaws wide enough for adult frogs because large frogs are energetically too costly for juveniles to catch or because juveniles are at risk if swallowing prey requires a long time 18 Individuals less than 500 mm snout vent length SVL primarily consume relatively light mosquito fish and topminnows whereas individuals exceeding 500 mm SVL begin taking massive bufonid toad and ranid frog prey 19 Using its vomeronasal organ also called Jacobson s organ the snake can detect parvalbumins in the cutaneous mucus of its prey 5 Reproduction editThe species is ovoviviparous giving birth to live young 6 The brood size varies from 15 to 20 young born in late July or August 14 Newborns are 200 240 mm about 8 0 9 5 in in total length 20 The banded water snake is able to hybridize with the common watersnake although this is not frequent Physical characteristics are insufficient to distinguish such hybrids and DNA analysis is required 21 Predator avoidance editWhen threatened banded water snakes flatten their bodies to appear larger and emit a foul musk from their anal glands and bite repeatedly They will slash sideways when biting to tear the flesh of the attacker 22 Subspecies editThe three recognized subspecies of N fasciata including the nominotypical subspecies are 6 N f confluens Blanchard 1923 Broad banded water snake 23 Oklahoma Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Missouri East Texas N f fasciata Linnaeus 1766 East Texas Louisiana southeastern Oklahoma Arkansas western Mississippi southern Alabama Florida southern Georgia South Carolina North Carolina southeast Missouri and Illinois N f pictiventris Cope 1895 Florida water snake Florida banded water snake Florida southeast Georgia Introduced to Brownsville Texas and California Taxonomy editSome older sources have considered Nerodia fasciata to be a subspecies of Nerodia sipedon 6 3 20 24 References edit a b Hammerson G A 2007 Nerodia fasciata IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007 e T62237A12583389 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2007 RLTS T62237A12583389 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Boulenger G A 1893 Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum Natural History Volume I Containing the Families Colubridae Aglyphae part Trustees of the British Museum Natural History Taylor and Francis Printers London xiii 448 pp Plates I XXVIII Tropidonotus fasciatus pp 242 244 a b Stejneger L and T Barbour 1917 A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles Harvard University Press Cambridge Massachusetts 125 pp Natrix sipedon fasciata p 96 Nerodia fasciata Global Biodiversity Information Facility Retrieved 16 February 2022 a b Smargiassi M T Daghfous G Leroy B Legreneur P Toubeau G Bels V Wattiez R 2012 Chemical basis of prey recognition in thamnophiine snakes the unexpected new roles of parvalbumins PLOS ONE 7 6 e39560 Bibcode 2012PLoSO 739560S doi 10 1371 journal pone 0039560 PMC 3384659 PMID 22761824 a b c d Nerodia fasciata at the Reptarium cz Reptile Database Accessed 26 April 2024 Battling an invasion of watersnakes US Fish amp Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region Fws gov Archived from the original on 26 December 2021 Retrieved 7 March 2022 California Nerodia Watch iNaturalist org Retrieved 7 March 2022 Florida Watersnake Nerodia fasciata pictiventris Californiaherps com Retrieved 7 March 2022 Southern Watersnake Nerodia fasciata Florida snake ID guide Florida Museum of Natural History Retrieved 26 April 2024 Semlitsch Raymond D Gibbons J Whitfield 21 December 1982 Body size dimorphism and sexual selection in two species of water snakes Copeia 1982 4 974 doi 10 2307 1444113 JSTOR 1444113 Brown E E 1956 Frequency of Skin Shedding in the Northern Banded Water Snake Herpetologica 12 4 313 320 ISSN 0018 0831 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 fasciata fasciata p 146 Plate 20 Map 100 a b Species Profile Banded Watersnake Nerodia fasciata SREL Herpetology srelherp uga edu Retrieved 6 April 2022 Camper amp Chick L D 2010 Seasonal Variation in the Spatial Ecology of the Banded Watersnake Nerodia fasciata fasciata Herpetologica 66 4 464 475 https doi org 10 1655 09 029 1 Conant R and W Bridges 1939 What Snake Is That A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains D Appleton Century New York and London Frontispiece map viii 163 pp Plates A C 1 32 Natrix sipedon fasciata p 103 Plate 18 Figure 53 Nerodia fasciata Southern Water Snake Vincent S E Shine R Herrel A 2006 The functional meaning of prey size in water snakes Nerodia fasciata Colubridae Oecologia 147 2 204 211 Bibcode 2006Oecol 147 204V doi 10 1007 s00442 005 0258 2 PMID 16237539 S2CID 13080210 Vincent Shawn E Moon Brad R Herrel Anthony Kley Nathan J 2007 Are ontogenetic shifts in diet linked to shifts in feeding mechanics Scaling of the feeding apparatus in the banded watersnake Nerodia fasciata Journal of Experimental Biology 210 12 2057 2069 doi 10 1242 jeb 02779 a b 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 sipedon fasciata pp 525 529 Figure 156 Mebert Konrad 2003 Hybridization between the watersnakesNerodia sipedonandNerodia fasciata in the Carolinas A morphological and molecular approach PhD thesis Old Dominion University doi 10 25777 658k 4603 Snakes Amphibians and Reptiles of North Carolina https herpsofnc org banded watersnake Powell R Conant R Collins J T Conant I H Johnson T R Hooper E D Taggart T W Conant R amp Collins J T 2016 Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and amphibians of Eastern and central North America Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 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 365 pp Natrix sipedon fasciata pp 221 222 Figure 72 Plate 24 Center on p 344 Other sources editHerps of Texas Nerodia fasciataExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nerodia fasciata Florida Watersnake Nerodia fasciata pictiventrisFurther reading editLinnaeus C 1766 Systema naturae per regna tria naturae secundum classes ordines genera species cum characteribus differentiis synonymis locis Tomus I Editio Duodecima Reformata L Salvius Stockholm 532 pp Coluber fasciatus p 378 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Banded water snake amp oldid 1220874256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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