The brown water snake is a large species of Natricine

Natricinae

Natricinae is a subfamily of the colubrid family of snakes which contains 28 genera. Members of this subfamily include many very common snake species, such as the European Grass Snakes, and the North American Water Snakes.- Genera :...

 snake found in the southeast United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Lycodonomorphus rufulus

Lycodonomorphus rufulus

Lycodonomorphus rufulus is a species of non-venomous, South African, colubrid snake.This gentle, harmless snake is by far the most common water snake in southern Africa. It can be found from Cape Town in the south, along the wet east coast of South Africa and inland as far as Gauteng, Lesotho and...

is sometimes also called the brown water snake, but L. rufulus is found in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

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Common Names

Brown water snake, water-pilot, aspic, false moccasin, great water snake, pied water snake, southern water snake, water rattle, water rattler..

Geographic Range

Found in lower coastal regions from southeastern Virginia, through the Carolinas and Georgia, to Northern and western Florida (Gulf Coast), then west through Alabama and Mississippi, to Louisiana, normally from sea level to 500 ft. (150 m) elevation.

Description

The brown water snake is very heavy-bodied, and its neck is distinctly narrower than its head. Dorsally it is brown or rusty brown with a row of about 25 black or dark brown square blotches down its back. Smaller similar blotches alternate on the sides. Ventrally it is yellow heavily marked with black or dark brown. Dorsal scales are in 27-33 rows (more than any other North American water snake), and it has 2-4 anterior temporals (usually 1 in others). Adults measure 30-60 in. (76-152 cm) in total length; record 69 in. (175 cm).

Reproduction

Nerodia taxispilota is ovoviviparous. Mating takes place in the spring on land or on tree branches. On average adult females are larger than adult males. The young are born alive, usually in August, in broods of 14-58, more commonly 30-40. The newborns are 7-10¾ in. (18-27 cm) long, with males longer than females, opposite of adults.

Source

Holbrook, J.E. 1842. North American Herpetology; or, a Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States, Vol. IV. Dobson. Philadelphia. Plate VIII & pp. 35-36.

Featured Herp: Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota)