Diamond-backed Water Snake ²

The Diamond-backed Water Snake is the largest water snake species at the Arboretum, mainly due to its impressive bulk. Heavy-bodied and large, these highly aquatic snakes are often mistaken for Cottonmouths ("water moccasins"). However, while water snakes will flatten their heads and bite aggressively if handled, they are not venomous. They are surprisingly graceful swimmers, keeping their bodies mostly submerged (Cottonmouths are clumsy swimmers and hold their bodies mostly out of the water). Diamond-backed Water Snakes are usually pale brown to olive green with dark, chain-like markings and a yellowish belly. Look closely and you will see their scales are strongly ridged, giving them a rough texture. They mainly eat aquatic prey like frogs and fish.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Douglas Mills, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/70651647@N00/2456118920
2. Adapted by hancnaturalist from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerodia_rhombifer

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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