Diamondback Water Snakes in Texas Look Venomous But Arent

The Diamondback Water Snake is the largest North American water snake. Also known as the Diamond-backed Watersnake, it is an extremely common species of non-venomous snakes that is a member of the ‘colubrid’ family. They are often mistaken for the poisonous variety of the ‘cottonmouth’, owing to its biting habit. This creature is also misidentified as the venomous ‘rattlesnake’, or even a ‘water moccasin’, a species of pit viper, because of its dark pigmentation and irritable temperament, and is often killed out of fear. It belongs to the genus ‘Nerodis’, all of which are native to the continent of North America.

The Diamondback Water Snakes are spread across the US, especially in the central United States. It is mostly common along the Mississippi River valley with its range including both the eastern and the western planes, as also in Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, and Indiana. They are also found in northern Mexican states of Nuevo León, Veracruz, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas.

Here is a sighting from the Guadalupe River!


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