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Reptiles of the United States  
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Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Saltmarsh Snakes »» Mangrove Saltmarsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii compressicauda)


Mangrove Saltmarsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii compressicauda)STATUS





Description: This subspecies exhibits many colors and patterns and can be gray, green, or tan with darker banding or may even be solid reddish orange or straw yellow. It is also known to intergrade with all other types of salt marsh snake, complicating the identification process. There are two primary forms: a gray-green color morph, and an orange variant. The gray-green variant has a dark crossbanded olive gray dorsum (some individuals that exhibit this color scheme have partial lateral striping on the forebody) with a clouded, gray-green venter. Adults of the orange phase, on the other hand, have an unmarked orangish back and sides; juveniles of this phase are orange with dark dorsal crossbands. All orange snakes in this subspecies exhibit a pale yellow venter, regardless of age.


Habitat: Within this range, N. c. compressicauda primarily inhabits inundated estuary forests of buttonwood and red mangroves, so as to minimize competition with Florida's numerous freshwater natricines.


Range: The Mangrove salt marsh snake's native range of populations is in Florida, from Tampa Bay south to Miami and northward along the Atlantic coast to the vicinity of Cape Canaveral.


Found in these States: FL


Diet: Prey upon small fish, crabs, shrimp, and other invertebrates that become trapped in tidal pools during low tide.


Reproduction: All members of this species reproduce via live birth, ovovivparous.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, 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: Nerodia
                     »» Species: Nerodia clarkii - Saltmarsh Snakes
                       »» Subspecies: Nerodia c. compressicauda - Mangrove Saltmarsh Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Nerodia clarkii", 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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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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