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Northern Florida Swamp Snake Range Map






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Northern Florida Swamp Snake Juvenile

Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Black Swamp Snakes »» Northern Florida Swamp Snake (Liodytes pygaea pygaea)


Northern Florida Swamp Snake (Liodytes pygaea pygaea)STATUS





Description: A small (10 to 15 inches long; largest individuals approx. 18.5 inches) aquatic snake with a shiny, black back and red belly. Scales shiny and smooth; lower scale rows with a faint, longitudinal line, giving the appearance of keeled scales. Belly has black square blotches infused peripherally between the red, ventral scales. Eye color difficult to distinguish from black head. Head only slightly distinct from neck. Scales underneath head yellow to pink. Anal scale divided. Younger individuals similar to adults. Females generally longer and weigh more than males. Although has relatively short tail compared with other snakes, males have longer tails than females. The three subspecies of black swamp snake delineated by the number of ventral scales.


Habitat: Canals, ditches, cypress ponds, lakes, and swamps, especially those with lush vegetation. Collected from ponds by pulling dense aquatic vegetation on to shore, or by inspecting under boards and debris near the edges of ponds. Opportunistically observed on rainy nights along roads near swampy environs.


Range: Confined to extreme southern Alabama, and northern Florida. In Alabama, only known from three localities in Covington County and one in Escambia County west of Conecuh River. Other subspecies in the Carolinas and southern Florida.


Found in these States: AL | FL


Diet: preys mostly at night on earthworms, leeches, arthropods, small fishes, and small amphibians.


Reproduction: From two to 11 young born alive in late summer or early fall.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Liodytes
                     »» Species: Liodytes pygaea - Black Swamp Snake
                       »» Subspecies: Liodytes pygaea pygaea - Northern Florida Swamp Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Black Swamp Snake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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