Species ID (Nerodia)

Bandit · 10-12-15, 01:05 PM

Hey everyone, I had taken a trip to Tennessee over the summer and never got around to posting these pictures. Can anyone tell me what species of Nerodia these guys are? I'm not too familiar with the different species outside of my home state. I was thinking either Northern or Midland, but that's just a guess.

FWK · 10-12-15, 01:44 PM

Both Midlands (N. s. pleuralis) and Northerns (N. s. sipedon) are found in Tennessee and there is a large intergrade zone where their ranges overlap. A location would help narrow it down. That said it is definitely Nerodia sipedon (the common names Northern Water Snake and Common Water Snake are often used interchangeably for N. sipedon, I prefer Common Water Snake as Northern Water Snake also refers specifically to the subspecies N. s. sipedon) and I'm pretty sure these subspecies will be going away as soon as someone finishes a mtDNA study on N. sipedon. At least I hope somebody is taking a look at them.

Bandit · 10-12-15, 03:41 PM

Thanks for the response. To be more specific, they were found in Gatlinburg, TN.

FWK · 10-12-15, 04:44 PM

That puts it in the intergrade zone, but near the edge on the N. s. sipedon side.

Bandit · 10-12-15, 05:50 PM

Awesome. Thanks!