Barry Mansell photo.

Scientific name: Nerodia floridana

Description: Adults average from 30-55 inches (76-140 cm), record 74 inches (188 cm). Adults are thick bodied and may be greenish, brownish, or orangish, with no real distinctive markings other than dark speckling. The belly is unpatterned but light-colored, with a faint pattern beneath the tail. The head is large, with a scale between the eye and the scales on the upper lip. The scales are keeled and there are 27-29 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juvenile color is similar to that of adults.

Ron Black photo.

Adult Florida green water snake in a shallow lake.

Florida green watersnake: Left to right: Top of the head; underside of the head (chin and throat).

Florida green watersnake: Left to right: Side of the head (notice the scale between the eye and upper labials);
front (face view) of the head.

Range: It is found throughout most of Florida, excluding the keys. Outside of Florida, it occurs into southern Georgia, and in a disjunct population in southeastern South Carolina.

Habitat: Commonly found in calm waters of prairies, marshes, lakes, ponds, hyacinth-choked canals, and estuaries.

Comments: . Like all other watersnakes, the Florida green watersnake is commonly mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth. The cottonmouth is usually darker and will open its mouth as a warning display, showing the bright white interior of its mouth.

It feeds on frogs, tadpoles, salamanders, and fishes.

It is live-bearing. Breeding takes place from March-June. Almost all large adults (over 3.5 feet in length) are females. When gravid, females can become quite large and thick. Litters, usually around 20-30 and up to more than 100, are born from June-September.

Comparison with other species: The Mississippi green watersnake (Nerodia cyclopion) has a patterned belly. All other watersnakes lack scales between the eyes and the scales of the upper lip.

Harmless watersnakes are frequently killed in the mistaken belief that they are the venomous cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus). However, cottonmouths can easily be distinguished from watersnakes. Cottonmouths have a triangular shaped head and vertical pupil. If the head is viewed from above, the eyes of cottonmouths cannot be seen while the eyes of watersnakes are visible; cottonmouths have elliptical pupils and watersnakes have round pupils; and cottonmouths have a facial pit between the nostril and the eye, which the watersnakes lack.

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