βΉ Compare two snakes
Northern Watersnake vs Plain-bellied Watersnake
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Martyn Drabik-Hamshare, no rights reserved
Northern Watersnake
Nerodia sipedon
Non-venomous(c) dhasdf, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Plain-bellied Watersnake
Nerodia erythrogaster
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the belly. The Plain-bellied Watersnake's belly is plain yellow, orange or red with no markings. The Northern Watersnake's belly has dark markings, and adults usually keep some banding on the back.
Pattern β
This settles it
Crossbands up front breaking into blotches toward the tail; reddish half-moons on the belly.
Adults mostly plain above; young have dark crossbands near the head that turn into blotches down the body.
Head
Narrow head barely wider than the neck; flattens when threatened.
Fairly large eyes, easy to see from above; lips often yellowish or orange like the belly.
Eyes
Round pupil, eyes set high on the head; no heat-sensing pit.
Round pupils; eyes clearly visible when you look down on the head.
Pits
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
Tapers evenly; no rattle.
Plain tapering tail with no rattle; the underside is unmarked like the belly.
What it does
Basks on docks and banks; drops into water, bites hard if grabbed.
Flees if it can; bites hard and releases musk if cornered or grabbed.
Where it lives
Eastern and central US from Maine and Ontario south to the Carolinas and the Gulf states (just into the Florida panhandle), west to Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma; introduced in California.
Southeastern and central US from Delaware and southeastern Virginia south to the Florida Panhandle, west through the Mississippi Valley to Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and the Pecos River in New Mexico; small scattered northern populations in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and southern Michigan. Also northern Mexico.