Nerodia floridana
| Florida green watersnake | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Natricinae |
| Genus: | Nerodia |
| Species: | N. floridana |
| Binomial name | |
| Nerodia floridana | |
| Synonyms | |
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Florida green watersnake (Nerodia floridana) is a harmless North American species of water snake.
N. floridana is the largest and most dominant watersnake in North America. Fully grown it will typically reach 76–140 cm (30–55 in), with the record-sized specimen having measured 188 cm (74 in).[1] Its coloration is solid greenish-brownish with whitish belly in adults. Juveniles have about 50 dark bars down their dorsum and on their sides, which fade gradually with age.[2]
Habitat
N. floridana are found throughout Florida and in parts of southern Georgia with two isolated populations in western and southern South Carolina. They prefer choked vegetation and calm waters such as swamps and marshes. They can also be found in lakes, ponds, ditches, and slow rivers and occasionally in brackish water. In South Carolina it is considered imperiled.[3]
Diet
The diet consists of small aquatic life such as frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, and fish.