Does anyone know what this is? I'm not sure how difficult snake identification is, or what key features need to be documented for a proper ID. I apologize if this photo doesn't contain enough information.
The snake was about 2ft long and seen in south central Franklin CO.
It looks like a water snake, not sure what kind. Note the round pupil, North American non-venomous snakes all posses this feature. (Except the venomous coral snake) Based on the glazed eye appearance it also looks like the snake is about to shed, making an exact ID even tougher. Was this snake in Kansas?
I think it's a Rat Snake(Black Snake),they will often have red highlights,just my opinion,and it looks like it will shed it's skin soon!!
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
Thanks for the feedback Brad and KC. And yes, Franklin Co. KS. Water snake was suggested by someone else I shared the picture with... I'll just include his remarks below.
This here serpent is some kind of water snake. The genus of most kinds of North American water snakes used to be Natrix, but now they're mostly in Nerodia. I'm telling all of you this to distract you from the fact that I don't know what species is involved. Its color pattern (or lack of same) is not typical of the local water snakes I'm familiar... See More with (banded, diamond-backed, and Graham's--some of these names are probably no longer in general use), and so I assume that this picture was taken somewhere in the East, and probably the Southeast. Could be this is a yellow-bellied water snake or some southeastern race of the common/banded water snake. I'll try to find time to check my books. Or has the photographer known all along what it is?
Ron Pine Ph.D.
BradMyers you're probably right,and by the way how do you keep your ass strapped in that seat when you're goin so damn fast??
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
Not sure,must have benn 30-40lbs,thanks I'll try to get some fresh pics of bigger ones come July.And a much smaller channel on Friday That is truely amazing going that fast in a BOAT
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
Not sure,must have benn 30-40lbs,thanks I'll try to get some fresh pics of bigger ones come July.And a much smaller channel on Friday That is truely amazing going that fast in a BOAT
You ain't kidding, TV does no justice when it come to watching these things. Lucas Oil is suppose to be building a track out in MO from what i hear.
I guess we'll need to start a fish thread when the morels are done, hopefully I'll have some new striper pics to add.
Kawryan already has us set up with the "fishin hole" page,lets mark it up can't wait to see some good pics of them Stripers
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
Kawryan already has us set up with the "fishin hole" page,lets mark it up can't wait to see some good pics of them Stripers
Sweet, THX Kawryan!
Hopefully this thread will stay up too, I love to play name that snake. Plus if it saves some snakes from an unnecessary death, it has done a good thing. Studies show that an average of 12 people die from snakebites in the USA annually versus insect stings that kill between 3-4 times that amount. Plus most folk that are bit, were playing with something they knew what it was and had no business messing with. My last snake encounter was a young black rat snake, this animal was very docile and liked the heat from my arm, too bad I could not extract morel locations from it.
People seem to have a fear of snakes that goes back to the days of Adam & Eve and will kill them on sight. Hopefully some will learn from identification that the harmless snakes out number the venomous ones through out this great country. Of all my time in the wild over the past 40 years (and it’s a bunch) I have encountered about 5 venomous snakes and not one was close to biting me. Not even the 6’ eastern diamondback that was less than 4’ away from me while deer hunting.
Thanks for all the input. An attempt to keep track of reptiles I spot while mushroom hunting is a goal of mine; however, I'm used to photographing organisms that are, for all intents and purposes, static. Sure, slime moulds are locomotive organisms, but they are pretty darned slow -- even when compared to a cold snake on a cloudy day. =P
More from Ron Pine:
"From that area [Franklin Co KS], it could be a Northern Water Snake, a Diamondback Water Snake, or a Plainbelly Water Snake. Owing to its almost complete lack of pattern, I'd call it a Plainbelly Water Snake (... See MoreNerodia erythrogaster), a species that I have never encountered in Kansas, although I've run into them on the East Coast. That's the same species of snake as what I called the yellow-bellied water snake in an earlier comment. It wasn't until I looked in some books today that I found out that this snake gets as far north in Kansas as it does. "
I just want to second what Brad was saying about unneccesary killing of snakes. All snakes serve a purpose and nothing gets your heart beating faster than coming into close contact with one, not even finding shrooms or rocks! I recently had about a 6' black snake hanging around the house. I was truly upset to come home a few days ago and see him laying dead in my driveway. Black snakes do more good than harm for sure!
Please remember that snakes can jump! I was always told they could jump their body length, that statement is false! Personal experience has taught me that a determined snake can jump TWICE its body length....so be careful out there and share the woods, your in their home.
"Then,taking along some of the fruit of the land,they brought it down to us and reported,'The land which the lord,our God,gives us is good.'"Deuteronomy 1:25
I just want to second what Brad was saying about unneccesary killing of snakes. All snakes serve a purpose and nothing gets your heart beating faster than coming into close contact with one, not even finding shrooms or rocks! I recently had about a 6' black snake hanging around the house. I was truly upset to come home a few days ago and see him laying dead in my driveway. Black snakes do more good than harm for sure!
Please remember that snakes can jump! I was always told they could jump their body length, that statement is false! Personal experience has taught me that a determined snake can jump TWICE its body length....so be careful out there and share the woods, your in their home.
I agree. Please don't kill one, unless it has already bitten you & you need to bring its sorry carcass to the nearest ER for identification purposes.
Best to just walk around them and give them lots of room when you encounter them sunning on your trail. Chances are they'll slither away when they hear/feel you coming - they're probably more afraid of you than you are of them.
And anyway, more people get bitten by trying to kill the darned things. Live & let live!
BTW how much did that blue weigh? That is a nice fish. 
can't wait to see some good pics of them Stripers 
I recently had about a 6' black snake hanging around the house. I was truly upset to come home a few days ago and see him laying dead in my driveway. 
Black snakes do more good than harm for sure!
