Class Mascot - Rainbow Snake

I nominate the Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma) for our Herpetology class mascot. Also known as the "Eel-mocassin", Rainbow snakes are a highly aquatic colubrid snake that is typically underneath vegetation and debris in cypress swamps, creeks, streams, and/or rivers. It is rarely seen due to its excellent hiding skills.

Rainbow snakes can be identified by their color - majorly black with three black stripes running down their backs. Their underbelly typically is reddish/pink with black spots. 

In reaching for more information about this beautiful snake, I discovered that they utilize apnea when they are swimming. Apnea is the process of pausing the breath, allowing the Rainbow snakes to be submerged for long periods of time. 

I think this would be an excellent representation of our class because they are such beautiful creatures, are typically not aggressive, and would produce an adventure in attempts to find them!

Sources

https://biologydictionary.net/rainbow-snake/

 https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrNOoofAUhkGXEStgmjzbkF;_ylu=c2VjA2ZwLWF0dHJpYgRzbGsDcnVybA--/RV=2/RE=1682469279/RO=11/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.floridamuseum.ufl.edu%2fflorida-snake-id%2fsnake%2frainbow-snake%2f/RK=2/RS=k60x7IAfHQrMRM5.texRMB0ds.c-