In 2007 I went camping in the GreatSmokeyMountainsNational Park in NC/TN. I was walking around the stream to take some pictures when I almost stepped on a snake. I was able to get some photos of it before it dove into the water. Knowing nothing about snakes at the time, I asked a ranger what I found and he could not identify it. So it remained a mystery, until I took herpetology. It is definitely a water snake, Nerodia. The dark reddish markings on its back are wider than the lighter spaces in-between. This suggests that it is a Northern water snake instead of a midland, because in the midland the darker spaces are narrower that the ones in between. Also, according to my field guide, the Northern water snake’s habitat includes the area of the GreatSmokeyMountainsNational Park. So I concluded that my unknown snake must be Nerodia sipedon, Northern water snake.
Herpetological observations and reflections from the College of Charleston (SC) herpetology course, with occasional contributions from our friends at other universities including our co-founder, Miami University (OH).
ld guide, the Northern water snake’s habitat includes the area of the 
No comments:
Post a Comment