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Nerodia clarkii

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Nerodia clarkii
N. clarkii compressicauda,
red color phase
N. clarkii compressicauda,
normal color phase

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Nerodia
Species:
N. clarkii
Binomial name
Nerodia clarkii
(Baird & Girard, 1853)
Synonyms[3]
  • Regina clarkii
    Baird & Girard, 1853
  • Nerodia compressicauda
    Kennicott, 1860
  • Natrix clarkii
    — Cope, 1892
  • Tropidonotus clarkii
    — Boulenger, 1893
  • Natrix compressicauda tæniata
    Cope, 1895
  • Natrix compressicauda
    — Barbour, 1915
  • Natrix sipedon clarkii
    — Schmidt & Davis, 1941
  • Natrix fasciata clarki
    — Conant, 1975
  • Nerodia clarkii
    — Conant & Collins, 1991
Gulf salt marsh snake (N. clarkii clarkii ) in Florida

Nerodia clarkii, commonly known as the salt marsh snake, is a species of semiaquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid snake found in the southeastern United States. Their range extends along the brackish salt marshes of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast from Texas to Florida, with an additional population in northern Cuba.[2]

Etymology

The specific name, clarkii, is in honor of American surveyor and naturalist John Henry Clark (1830–1885).[4]

Description and subspecies

General description

Salt marsh snakes grow to a total length (including tail) of 15 inches (38 cm) to 30 inches (76 cm). They are also highly variable in both pattern and coloration. Found must commonly in salt marshes, this snake inhabits brackish and saltwater habits; it is also found hiding in crab burrows.[5] Though salt marsh snakes are common throughout the territory they inhabit, they has a tendency to be wary and secretive, so they are rarely seen.[6] All members of this species reproduce via live birth.

The seawater they inhabit exerts a continual osmotic draw on their tissues electrolyte balance. Its scaly reptilian skin acts as a barrier against external dehydration, but, if ingested, seawater draws the less-salty fluid from blood and tissues into the stomach. N. clarkii is the only species to establish itself in this saline niche, drinking only rainwater when it is available, and at other times swallowing nothing but prey animals with the same diluted body fluids as their own.[7] All water species of snake (including N. clarkii) are typically considered to be non-venomous, though they do employ a complex series of enzymes in their saliva, resulting in some inflammation and edema to those who have been bit.[6]

Subspecies

There are three subspecies of the Salt marsh snake, which are as follows:

Gulf Salt Marsh Snake (N. c. clarkii)

This is perhaps the most prominent of the three races of N. clarkii, with the furthest range. Populations of the Gulf salt marsh snake natively range from from the vicinity of Corpus Christi, Texas, to the Gulf Hammock region of Florida. They are characterized by their prominent stripes; members of this race can be gray, tan or yellow, but all exhibit four brown to black longitudinal stripes which run from the back of their neck to their tail. The belly is reversed in color from the dorsum, and is reddish with a central light line. The scales are in either 21 or 23 rows, and the anal plate is divided. There is little ontogenetic difference between neonate to fully adult snakes.[6] Members of this race consist on a diet of primarily fish, and especially shallows-living species such as killifish and small mullet, as well as crayfish and shrimp.[7] Members of this race are primarily nocturnal during hot summer nights, but may be found basking and foraging during daylight hours in cool weather.[6] Sexual maturity is reached at three years. [8]

Mangrove salt marsh snake (N. c. compressicauda )

Populations in Florida from Tampa Bay south to Miami and northward along the Atlantic coast to the vicinity of Cape Canaveral are referred to as the mangrove salt marsh snake (N. c. compressicauda). This subspecies exhibits many colors and patterns and can be gray, green, or tan with darker banding or may even be solid reddish orange or straw yellow. Many are known to be wary to humans.[6]

Gulf Salt Marsh Snake (N. c. taeniata)

A third subspecies, the Atlantic salt marsh snake (N. c. taeniata), in its pure form is restricted to a small stretch of coastline in Volusia and Indian River Counties, Florida. However, intergrades between it and the mangrove salt marsh snake extend a county or two southward of Volusia county.[6] Much of it's habitat has been lost due to commercial development of the area's ocean coastline. [7] This race is smaller than the other two, with a record size of only 24 inches.[9] It has a color pattern of four dark stripes on the neck which are replaced by a series of dark blotches or bands on the posterior portion of the snake's body. The dorsal ground color of this species is gray to olive, and the anterior stripes may be darker than the ground color. It exhibits reddish belly scutes, with each bearing a yellowish midventral spot.[6] It is currently listed as a Threatened Species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service,[10] having received this designation in 1977.[11]

Taxonomy

Some sources consider the three races of N. clarkii to be subspecies of the southern water snake, Nerodia fasciata.[12][13] Others consider not only the three races of N. clarkii, but also the species N. fasciata itself, all to be subspecies of N. sipedon.[14][15]

Subspecies

The following three subspecies of N. clarkii are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[3]

References

  1. ^ Hammerson GA (2007). "Nerodia clarkii ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2007. IUCN: e.T63852A12722122. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63852A12722122.en. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Nerodia clarkii". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Species Nerodia clarkii at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Nerodia fasciata clarkii, p. 55).
  5. ^ "Saltmarsh Snake". Florida Snake ID Guide. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Bartlett, Richard D.; Bartlett, Patricia (2003-12-16). Florida's Snakes: A Guide to Their Identification and Habits. University Press of Florida. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8130-2636-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  7. ^ a b c Tennant, Alan (1997-02-28). A Field Guide to Snakes of Florida (1st ed.). Gulf Publishing. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-87719-291-6.
  8. ^ "Gulf Salt Marsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii)". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  9. ^ "Atlantic salt marsh snake". Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  10. ^ "Atlantic salt marsh snake (Nerodia clarkii taeniata)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. ^ 42 FR 60743
  12. ^ Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Natrix fasciata clarki, pp. 147-148; N. f. taeniata, p. 148; N. f. compressicauda, pp. 148-149; Plate 21; Map 101).
  13. ^ Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3 (limp). (Nerodia fasciata clarki, N. f. compressicauda, N. f. taeniata, pp. 156-157).
  14. ^ Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. xiii + 365 pp. (Natrix sipedon clarkii, N. s. compressicauda, pp. 222-224 + Figure 72 [map] on p. 221).
  15. ^ Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Natrix sipedon clarki, N. s. compressicauda, pp. 515-522, Figures 151-154; N. f. taeniata, pp. 541-544, Figure 161; Map 40 on p. 491).

Further reading

  • Baird SF, Girard CF (1853). Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part I.—Serpents. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xvi + 172 pp. (Regina clarkii, new species, p. 48).
  • Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Tropidonotus clarkii, p. 238).
  • Conant, Roger; Bridges, William (1939). What Snake Is That?: A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-c, 1-32. (Natrix sipedon clarkii, pp. 105–106 + Plate 20, Figure 57).
  • Cope ED (1895). "On some new North American Snakes". American Naturalist 29: 676-680. (Natrix compressicauda tæniata, new subspecies, pp. 676–677).
  • Kennicott R (1860). "Descriptions of New Species of North American Serpents in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 12: 328-338. (Nerodia compressicauda, new species, pp. 335–336).
  • Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 Plates, 207 Figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Nerodia clarkii, pp. 414–415 + Plate 40).
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