Kenneth L. Krysko photo.

Scientific name: Regina alleni

Description: Average adult size is 14-20 inches (35.5-50.8 cm), record is 26 inches (66 cm). Adults are glossy brown with three inconspicuous darker stripes, one along the center and one on each side of the back. The lower sides are yellowish-tan. The belly is normally uniform yellowish, but can be reddish-orange with a darker smudges to a well defined row of spots. The head appears small relative to the body. The scales are smooth, but above the cloaca they are keeled. There are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juveniles are similar to that of adults.

  Side view of striped crayfish snake's head.
Rick Owen photo.

Striped crayfish snake: Left to right: Top of the head (notice the large plate-like scales on the top of the head);
underside of the head (chin and throat).

Striped crayfish snake: Left to right: Side of the head; front (face view) of the head.

Range: In Florida, it is found throughout the peninsula, excluding the keys, and into the eastern panhandle. Outside of Florida, it is found into southern Georgia.

Habitat: Commonly found in cypress strands, sawgrass prairies, swamps, canals, sphagnum bogs, and in south Florida in flooded stands of punk trees, Melaleuca sp.

Comments: . The striped crayfish snake is highly aquatic and inhabits areas with dense vegetation such as hyacinth-choked waterways where it lives within the submerged roots. Here it finds its favorite prey, crayfish. This snake does not constrict its prey like many other species do, but rather it uses coils of its body to hold the prey while swallowing it alive. Juveniles may also feed on aquatic invertebrates such as dragonfly larvae.

Breeding probably occurs in the spring; the young are born alive.

Comparison with other species: The glossy crayfish snake (Regina rigida rigida) lacks distinct striping and has a belly marked with 2 rows of brown half moons. Other water snakes (Nerodia) lack dorsal striping.

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