Farancia abacura
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| Farancia abacura Holbrook, 1836 |
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Helicops abacurus |
The Mud Snake (Farancia abacura) is a species of non-venomous, semi-aquatic, colubrid snake that is found in the southeastern United States.
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[edit] Description
Mud Snakes grow to an average of 40 to 54 inches in length, but larger sizes are not unknown, with the record being over 80 inches. They have smooth, glossy, black back scales, with a red underside that extends up the sides to form bars of reddish-pink. They have a sharply pointed tail which they use to prod prey items, that sometimes leads the species to be called the "stinging snake".
[edit] Behavior
Mud Snakes are mostly aquatic, and nocturnal, inhabiting the edges of streams and cypress swamps, among dense vegetation or under ground debris. Their primary diet consists of amphiumas and sirens, but they will also eat a variety of other amphibians, including salamanders, frogs, and sometimes fish. Breeding takes place in the spring, mostly in the months of April and May. Eight weeks after mating the female lays 4 to 104 eggs in a nest which she digs out of moist soil. Females remain with the eggs until the hatch, which is in the fall. Usually in September or October.
[edit] Geographic range
The Mud Snake is found primarily in the southeastern United States, in the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky.
[edit] Subspecies
There are two recognized subspecies of F. abacura:
- Eastern Mud Snake, Farancia abacura abacura (Holbrook, 1836)
- Western Mud Snake, Farancia abacura reinwardtii (Schlegel, 1837)
[edit] Myths
Some sources believe this snake may be the origin of the hoop snake myth.
