Black swamp snake

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Black swamp snake
Seminatrix pygaea.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Liodytes
Species:
L. pygaea
Binomial name
Liodytes pygaea
(Cope, 1871)
Liodytes pygaea distribution map.png
Synonyms [2]
  • Contia pygaea
    Cope, 1871
  • Tropidonotus pygæus
    Boulenger, 1893
  • Seminatrix pygaea
    — Cope, 1895
  • Liodytes pygaea
    McVay & Carstens, 2013

The black swamp snake (Liodytes pygaea) is a species of snake in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. There are three subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Contents

Common names

Additional common names for L. pygaea include black swampsnake, [3] mud snake, [4] red-bellied mud snake, [5] and swamp snake. [6]

Subspecies

The following three subspecies are recognized as being valid. [2]

Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Liodytes.

Geographic range

L. pygaea is found in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida on the east coast of the United States.

Habitat

L. pygaea prefers swampland habitat that is heavily vegetated.

Description

The black swamp snake is a small, thin snake, usually 25–38 cm (10–15 in) long (including tail); the record size is 55 cm (22 in). [7] [8] It is uniformly black on the dorsum, with a bright orange or red belly.

L. pygaea cyclas showing black dorsum and red ventrum. Black swampsnake (Liodytes pygaea).jpg
L. pygaea cyclas showing black dorsum and red ventrum.

Behavior

The black swamp snake is almost entirely aquatic. It spends most of its time hiding among dense vegetation in tannic cypress swamps.

Diet

L. pygaea feeds on small fish, tadpoles, frogs, salamanders, sirens, amphiumas, and invertebrates, such as leeches and earthworms.

Reproduction

The black swamp snake is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young directly in shallow water. Unlike many snakes, females feed actively while gravid, suggesting that they may pass nutrients directly on to the young. Broods of 11 to 13 have been observed. [9] Newborns are 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in) long (including tail). [7]

References

  1. Hammerson GA (2016). "Liodytes pygaea ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T63916A90084285. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T63916A90084285.en. Downloaded on 06 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 Species Liodytes pygaea at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Powell, Conant & Collins (2016).
  4. Conant & Bridges (1939).
  5. Wright & Wright (1957).
  6. Behler & King (1979).
  7. 1 2 Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN   0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN   0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Seminatrix pygaea, pp. 152-153 + Plate 22 + Map 112).
  8. "Black Swamp Snake (Seminatrix pygaea)". Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. University of Georgia.
  9. Schmidt, Karl P.; Davis, D. Dwight (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Seminatrix pygaea, pp. 225-227, Figure 73).

Further reading