![]() insularum, was once endangered, but now benefits from the introduction of the round goby, an invasive species, which constitutes up to 90% of its diet. At night, it concentrates on minnows and other small fish resting in shallow water. During the day, it hunts among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, tadpoles, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, large insects, salamanders, other snakes, turtles, small birds, and mammals. It is most often seen basking on rocks, stumps, or brush. sipedon is active during the day and at night. Northern watersnake basking west of Ottawa, Ontario ![]() fasciata, has been introduced in California, where they are considered invasive species likely to compete with native giant garter snake Thamnophis gigas. Since at least 1992, this species, along with N. The common watersnake is found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south. williamengelsi (Conant & Lazell, 1973) – Carolina watersnake sipedon ( Linnaeus, 1758) – northern watersnake pleuralis ( Cope, 1892) – midland watersnake insularum ( Conant & Clay, 1937) – Lake Erie watersnake These four subspecies are recognized as being valid: Ĭolubrid snakes also have flat scales on their heads, while vipers all possess smaller, rugose scutes. The cottonmouth has a fatter body, a wedge-shaped head with prominent venom glands that are wider than the neck, cat-like pupils, and heat-sensing pits between the eyes and the nostrils. The two can be easily distinguished: the watersnake has a longer, more slender body and a flattened head the same width as the neck, round pupils, and no heat-sensing pits. It is often killed by humans out of fear killing snakes greatly increases the chance of being bitten. The common watersnake is nonvenomous and harmless to humans, but superficially resembles the venomous cottonmouth. It can be white, yellow, or gray usually, it also has reddish or black crescents. Some individuals become almost completely black. sipedon ages, the color darkens, and the pattern becomes obscure. It has dark crossbands on the neck and dark blotches on the rest of the body, often leading to misidentification as a cottonmouth or copperhead by novices. sipedon can be brown, gray, reddish, or brownish-black. ![]() The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males can scale 370 g (13 oz). From known studies of this species in the wild, adult females can weigh between 159 and 408 g ( 5 + 1⁄ 2 and 14 + 1⁄ 2 oz) typically, while the smaller male can range from 80.8 to 151 g ( 2 + 7⁄ 8 to 5 + 3⁄ 8 oz). Per one study, the average total length of females was 81.4 cm (2 ft 8 in), while that of males was 69.6 cm (2 ft 3 + 1⁄ 2 in). The common watersnake can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length (including tail). sipedon include banded water snake, black water adder, black water snake, brown water snake, common water snake, common northern water snake, eastern water snake, North American water snake, northern banded water snake, northern water snake, spotted water snake, streaked snake, water pilot, and water snake. ![]() It is frequently mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth ( Agkistrodon piscivorus).Ĭommon names for N. The common watersnake ( Nerodia sipedon) is a species of large, nonvenomous, common snake in the family Colubridae. ![]()
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