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: