Diamondback Water Snake
Nerodia
rhombifer
Description
30-63" (76.2-160 cm). Heavy-bodied;
greenish-brown to brown with large dark netlike pattern formed of
dark blotches on back, connected with alternating dark bars on
sides. Yellow belly with largest dark spots along sides. Scales
keeled, in 25-31 rows. Anal plate divided. Males have pimplelike
bumps on chin scales.
Warning
The Diamondback Water Snake is quick to
bite and capable of inflicting numerous lacerations, but its bite is
not venomous. This aggressive behavior, coupled with its habitat,
often results in Diamondbacks being misidentified as poisonous
Cottonmouths.
Subspecies
Three; 1 in our range: Northern (N. r.
rhombifera).
Breeding
Mates in spring; 14-62 young, 9-13"
(23-33 cm) long, are born August to October.
Habitat
Margins of lakes, rivers, streams,
swamps, marshes, canals, ditches, and ponds.
Range
S. Illinois and Indiana south along the
Mississippi River drainage to Mississippi and sc. Alabama, west to
sc. Texas and Mexico, north through Oklahoma, Kansas, and n.
Missouri.
