Dark Banded

Florida banded watersnake.
Nerodia fasciata pictiventris.
August 12th, 2005.
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge;
Deleon Springs, Florida.
Nikon CPix 5700.
~~~~~

This is a nice example of what I call the "dark" variant of the Florida banded watersnake. A non-venomous snake, the Florida banded watersnake is a highly diversified animal. I've found that there are primarily three variants of this species in central Florida: the standard, the dark, and the caramello. The dark phase, liket his one, is quite literally most black with dark red vertical cross bands. The head is darker than the other variants, but still has the lighter band radiating back from the eye (visible in this shot).

Though non-venomous, Florida bandeds can and often will bite in self-defense when and if molested, attacked, or caught. Having said that, however, it's worth noting that they seem to be the least aggressively-defensive of Florida's Nerodia species (at least, in my own experiences catching and handling them).

~ janson