Farancia abacura

I was in the Francis Marion National Forest a week ago during a plant taxonomy field trip and stumbled upon this beautiful snake! ~ Farancia abacura, a mud snake. I took the picture with my phone so it isnt so clear (sorry! =/)

Sadly he was dead; we found him in the grass on the side of the road. After observing him we noticed that his jaw had been broken and he had probably been hit by a car. This is a perfect example of why we cannot let our national forests be turned into commercial highways. South Carolina is trying to widen the roads that go through the Francis Marion, which would lead to the destruction of miles and miles of poccosin, swamp forest, and endangered longleaf pine ecosystems and undoubtedly lead to higher mortality of local species as is witnessed with this mud snake. (Posted by Gabi Oken)