Mud snake | |
---|---|
Western mud snake (F. a. reinwardtii), in Illinois | |
Eastern mud snake (F. a. abacura), Pasco County, Florida | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Farancia |
Species: | F. abacura |
Binomial name | |
Farancia abacura (Holbrook, 1836) | |
Synonyms [2] | |
List
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The mud snake (Farancia abacura) is a species of nonvenomous, semiaquatic, colubrid snake endemic to the southeastern United States. [3]
The mud snake usually grows to a total length (including tail) of 40 to 54 inches (1-1.4 m), [4] with the record total length being slightly over 80 inches (2 m). [5]
This species is sexually dimorphic in size. Female adults are larger than males in total length. [6]
The upperside of the mud snake is glossy black. The underside is red and black, and the red extends up the sides to form bars of reddish-pink. Although, some have a completely black body with slightly lighter black spots instead of the common reddish colors.
The heavy body is cylindrical in cross section, and the short tail has a terminal spine.
The head scalation is distinctive in that there is only one internasal scale, no preocular scale, and one anterior temporal scale. The dorsal scales are smooth, and are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. There are 168–208 ventral scales and 31–55 subcaudal scales. The anal plate is divided. [7]
Farancia abacura is the only species that belongs to the Farancia genus, with two different subspecies within itself. [8]
F. abacura inhabits the edges of streams and cypress swamps, among dense vegetation or under ground debris, using wet conditions to burrow itself into the mud. It is almost fully aquatic and rarely leaves the water, except to lay eggs, hibernate, or during drought to escape drying wetlands. [9] [10] After heavy rain fall, its home range may increase to take advantage of new food sources. [11] It occupies aquatic habitats with freshwater or brackish waters. [12] For hibernation, they commonly use cavities in soil or old tree stumps.
The mud snake is mostly aquatic and nocturnal. It preys mostly on giant aquatic salamanders in the genera Siren and Amphiuma , but it also eats other amphibians. [13]
They are known to use their sharply pointed tails to prod prey items, leading to the nickname "stinging snake", although their tail is not a stinger and cannot sting. Enlarged teeth occur at the rear of the upper jaw, which presumably help to hold slippery prey. Upon being disturbed, mud snakes will sometimes tuck their head beneath their coils and expose the red underside on the tail as a warning display. [14]
Breeding of F. abacura takes place in the spring, mostly in the months of April and May. During copulation, the female will wind itself around the male. They can stay in this position for over a day. [15] Eight weeks after mating, the female lays 4 to 111 [16] eggs in a nest dug out of moist soil, sometimes in alligator nests. [17] The nests of this species can commonly be found in the ground under debris, but it is not limited to those areas. These nests are cavities in sandy soil with the eggs laid within. Some eggs can even be embedded into the wall. [18] There is a positive correlation between body length and clutch size, with larger females having larger clutch sizes. [6] She will remain with her eggs until they hatch, [19] in the fall, usually September or October. Although unhatched eggs have not been found in the winter or spring, many juvenile mudsnakes are captured entering wetlands in the spring, most likely from clutches deposited and hatched in the preceding late summer or autumn. It is thought that mudsnake hatchlings either enter aquatic habitats in the autumn or delay entering them until the spring, but it is not known if they remain in a terrestrial nest or disperse into terrestrial habitats during this time. [20]
The mud snake is found in the southeastern United States, in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. [3]
The mud snake is one of a few animals which may be the origin of the hoop snake myth. J.D. Willson writes:
Mud snakes are sometimes known as “hoop snakes” because of the myth that they will bite their own tail and roll after people. [3]
The hoop snake myth has also been attributed to the coachwhip snake.
There are two recognized subspecies of Farancia abacura, including the nominotypical subspecies:
Plestiodon anthracinus, the coal skink, is a species of lizard which is endemic to the United States.
The greater siren is an amphibian and one of the five members of the genus Siren. The largest of the sirens and one of the largest amphibians in North America, the greater siren resides in the coastal plains of the southeastern United States.
The eastern indigo snake is a species of large, non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. Native to the southeastern United States, it is the longest native snake species in the country.
The smooth green snake is a species of North American nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is also referred to as the grass snake. It is a slender, "small medium" snake that measures 36–51 cm (14–20 in) as an adult. It gets its common name from its smooth dorsal scales, as opposed to the rough green snake, which has keeled dorsal scales. The smooth green snake is found in marshes, meadows, open woods, and along stream edges, and is native to regions of Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. A non-aggressive snake, it seldom bites and usually flees when threatened. It mates in late spring to summer, and females lay their eggs from June to September. The smooth green snake will often bob its head in order to mimic vegetation blowing in the wind.
Cemophora coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. There are two subspecies of C. coccinea that are recognized as being valid. The Texas scarlet snake was previously considered a subspecies.
Farancia is a genus of colubrid snakes. It consists of two species, one commonly referred to as the rainbow snake and the other commonly referred to as the mud snake. Both species are native to the southeastern United States.
Sternotherus odoratus is a species of small turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is native to southeastern Canada and much of the Eastern United States. It is also known commonly as the common musk turtle, eastern musk turtle, or stinkpot turtle due to its ability to release a foul musky odor from scent glands on the edge of its shell, possibly to deter predation. This turtle is grouped in the same family as mud turtles.
The northern slimy salamander is a species of terrestrial plethodontid salamander found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.
Pituophis melanoleucus, commonly known as the eastern pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the eastern United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized as being valid.
The yellow mud turtle, also commonly known as the yellow-necked mud turtle, is a species of mud turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the Central United States and Mexico.
The northern two-lined salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends to be found in damp ground, but usually not near open water.
Farancia erytrogramma is a species of large, nonvenomous, highly amphibious colubrid snake, endemic to the coastal plains of the southeastern United States. Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, one of which has been declared extinct.
The eastern glass lizard is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae and the longest and heaviest species of glass lizards in the genus Ophisaurus, endemic to the Southeastern United States. The streamlined, legless species is often confused with snakes. Glass lizards differ from snakes as they possess a moveable eyelid and an external ear opening as well as a lateral groove that separates the different types of scales on the animal, all three of these features are absent in snakes. Snakes also have flexible jaws while lizards do not. Ventralis comes from the Latin "venter" meaning belly; this is in reference to the snake-like movement.
The eastern mud turtle or common mud turtle is a common species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the United States. There are two recognized subspecies.
The loggerhead musk turtle is a species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. This turtle has a large head which has a light-colored background with dark spots or stripes present on the head and neck. The average size of an adult loggerhead musk turtle is about 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) in straight carapace length.
Lampropeltis rhombomaculata, commonly known as the mole kingsnake or the brown kingsnake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. It is a relatively medium-sized snake that occupies a variety of habitats from Baltimore, Maryland, south through the Florida Panhandle and west into Mississippi and Tennessee.
The eastern worm snake is a subspecies of the worm snake, Carphophis amoenus, a nonvenomous colubrid endemic to the Eastern Woodlands region of North America. The species' range extends from southwest Massachusetts, south to southern Alabama, west to Louisiana and north to Illinois. This species is common in the ecotone between woodlands and wetlands. It may also be found in grasslands adjacent to woodlands. Though this snake can be abundant in parts of its range, it is rarely seen because of its fossorial lifestyle. When not underground, C. a. amoenus resides mostly under rocks, logs and leaf litter, or burrowed within rotting woody debris. This snake is perfectly safe to pick up, as it cannot bite, but may produce a foul-smelling excretion.
Pantherophis quadrivittatus, commonly called the eastern rat snake, is a species of non venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America.
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum, commonly known as the eastern milk snake or eastern milksnake, is a subspecies of the milk snake. The nonvenomous, colubrid snake is indigenous to eastern and central North America.
Carphophis amoenus, commonly known as the worm snake, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake endemic to the eastern United States. C. amoenus can be found east of the Mississippi, from southwest Massachusetts south to southern Alabama west to Louisiana and then north to Illinois. This species of snake protects a large range, and normally prefers a moist habitat in the rocky woodlands, under rotten wood of logs and stumps. Though this snake is quite abundant over its range, it is rarely seen because of its dormant lifestyle and where it usually resides. This snake is most common on the edges or in the ecotonal areas of open to thick woodlands, and the borders of wetlands. It may also be found in the grasslands next to woodlands. The best chance to spot it is after heavy rains, when its small size and distinct color make it easy to spot. This species prefers moist soil inhabited by earthworms, which are its main prey, so the soil needs to be sufficiently moist. The snake's skin naturally evaporates water; so the soil needs to be moist enough to offset this. C. amoenus is mostly found under rocks and in sufficient leaf litter during the extreme daytime heat. Peak activity falls between 15:00 to 18:00.
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