Color pattern of back (left) and belly and throat (right).
F. Wayne King photos.

Scientific name: Farancia erytrogramma seminola

Description: Record size is 51.5 inches (130.8 cm). Adults are large and thick bodied. The back is iridescent blue-black with a red stripe or line of spots down the middle and an additional reddish-pink stripe on each side. Black spots and speckles occur on every belly scale and lower two rows of scales on side of body. These black markings invade and breakup the red and yellow areas on the belly, throat and chin. The chin is yellow. The tail tip ends in a pointed, horny scale. The scales are mostly smooth, except on the posterior back and sides where they are weekly keeled. There are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juveniles are thought to be simlar in appearance to adults.

South Florida rainbow snake: Left to right: Top of head; underside of chin and throat.

South Florida rainbow snake: Left to right: Side of head; front (face view) of head.

Range: In Florida, this subspecies is known only from a single population in Fish Eating Creek, flowing into the west side of Lake Okeechobee, in the southern peninsula. The subspecies does not occur outside of south Florida.

Habitat: It is very rare or possibly extinct. It has only been found in creeks, but it is believed it may also inhabit areas similar to other rainbow snakes.

Comments: . Virtually nothing is known about this snake, but it is believed its life history is simlar to that of other rainbow snakes.

The South Florida rainbow snake is one of the rarest snakes in the United States. Only 3 specimens have been found, between 1949 and 1952. Several searches have been made for it since then but all were unsuccessful. As far as we can discover, no color photographs exist. The ones that appear above were produced by adding computer generated color to black and white photographs of the type specimen in the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Comparison with other species: Mud snakes (Farancia abacura) and Florida swamp snakes (Seminatrix pygaea) lack the rainbow snake's reddish-pink dorsal stripes.

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