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Nerodia clarkii (BAIRD & GIRARD, 1853)

IUCN Red List - Nerodia clarkii - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesNerodia clarkii clarkii (BAIRD & GIRARD 1853)
Nerodia clarkii compressicauda KENNICOTT 1860
Nerodia clarkii taeniata (COPE 1895) 
Common NamesE: Salt Marsh Snake
clarkii: Gulf Salt Marsh Snake
compressicauda: Mangrove Salt Marsh Snake
taeniata: Atlantic Salt Marsh Snake 
SynonymRegina Clarkii BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 48
Tropidonotus compsolaemus COPE 1861: 368
Tropidonotus clarkii — BOULENGER 1893: 238
Natrix compressicauda obscura LÖNNBERG 1894
Natrix compressicauda obscura — COPE 1900: 983
Natrix compressicauda compsolaema — COPE 1900: 983
Natrix clarkii — COPE 1900: 987
Natrix compressicauda — BARBOUR 1915
Natrix clarki — ALLEN 1932
Natrix sipedon clarkii — CLAY 1938: 180
Nerodia clarkii clarkii — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 155
Nerodia clarkii taeniata — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 155
Nerodia clarkii compressicauda — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 155
Nerodia clarki — SCHWARTZ & HENDERSON 1991: 627
Natrix fasciata clarki
Nerodia clarkii — CROTHER et al. 2012
Nerodia clarkii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 483
Nerodia clarki — LEMOS-ESPINAL 2015

Nerodia clarkii clarkii (BAIRD & GIRARD, 1853)
Regina Clarkii BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 48
Nerodia clarkii clarkii — CROTHER 2000: 66
Nerodia clarkii clarkii — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 147
Nerodia clarkii clarkii — CROTHER et al. 2012

Nerodia clarkii compressicauda KENNICOTT 1860
Nerodia compressicauda KENNICOTT 1860: 335
Tropidonotus ustus COPE 1860: 340
Tropidonotus compressicaudus walkeri YARROW 1883: 154
Tropidonotus compressicaudus — GARMAN 1884: 27
Natrix compressicauda bivillata COPE 1889: 392
Tropidonotus compressicauda — BOULENGER 1893: 238
Natrix compressicauda — LOENNBERG 1894
Natrix compressicauda — COPE 1900: 978
Natrix usta — COPE 1900: 990
Natrix compressicauda walkeri — COPE 1900: 982
Natrix sipedon compressicauda — CLAY 1938: 180
Nerodia fasciata compressicauda — MEHRTENS 1987: 156
Nerodia clarkii compressicauda — CROTHER 2000: 66
Nerodia clarkii compressicauda — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 149
Nerodia clarkii compressicauda — CROTHER et al. 2012

Nerodia clarkii taeniata (COPE 1895)
Natrix compressicauda taeniata COPE 1895: 676
Natrix compressicauda taeniata — COPE 1900: 981
Nerodia clarkii taeniata — CROTHER 2000: 67
Nerodia clarkii taeniata — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 148
Nerodia clarkii taeniata — CROTHER et al. 2012 
DistributionUSA (coastal Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, SE Texas),
N Cuba

clarki: USA (coastal Texas, Alabama)

compressicauda: USA (S Florida and the Florida Keys); northern coast of Cuba; Type locality: south of Tampa Bay, Florida.

taeniata: USA (Florida); Type locality: Florida, Volusia County, Volusia, National Gardens.

Type locality: Indianola, Calhoun Co., Texas.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 2264
Holotype: USNM 1348 [compressicauda]
Syntypes: ANSP 10903-04 [taeniata]
Syntype: USNM 13692 [bivittata]
Holotype: USNM 5286 [ustus]
Holotype: USNM 10681 [walkeri] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2320 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentFor illustrations see Wright and Wright, 1957; Neill, 1965 (Cuban specimen); Conant and Collins 1991; Ashton and Ashton, 1982. DUNSON (1979) synonymized N. c. taeniata with N. c. compressicauda, proposing that it was a pattern variant of the latter. LAWSON (1991) resurrected N. c. taeniata based on allozyme data.

Ecology: Nerodia clarkii is the only North American snake species restricted to a brackish water environment and has evolved behavioral (Pettus 1963) and physiological (Dunson 1980) specializations associated with a salt tolerance.

Habitat: at least partially coastal and thus considered (partially) “marine”. See also Ecology.

Synonymy: partly after Wallach et al. 2014 
EtymologyNamed after Lieutenant ]ohn Henry Clark (1830-1885), an American surveyor, naturalist, collector, and a zoologist on the U.S./Mexican Border Survey (1850-1855). Under the auspices of the Smithsonian, he conducted the Texas Boundary Survey (1860). 
References
  • Allen, Morrow J. 1932. A survey of the Amphibians and reptiles of Harrison County, Mississippi. American Museum Novitates (542): 1-20 - get paper here
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  • Barbour, Thomas;Noble, Gladwyn Kingsley 1915. Notes on the water snake Natrix compressicauda. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1915 (January): 29-35 - get paper here
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  • Hawthorne, William H. & Jeffrey M. Goessling 2020. A Test of Tradeoffs between Performance and Immunity in Water Snakes (Nerodia clarkii X Nerodia fasciata). Copeia 108 (3): 453-458 - get paper here
  • Holbrook, Joshua D., Thomas Chesnes, Hannah Boss, Amanda Berman, Jeff Chiyka, Christopher Bell and Caleb Bell. 2016. Geographic Distribution: Nerodia clarkii compressicauda (Mangrove Saltmarsh Watersnake). Herpetological Review 47 (1): 84 - get paper here
  • Jansen, Kevin P.; Henry R. Mushinsky & Stephen A. Karl 2008. Population genetics of the mangrove salt marsh snake, Nerodia clarkii compressicauda, in a linear, fragmented habitat. Conservation Genetics 9:401–410 - get paper here
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  • Lawson, Robin; Meier, Albert J.; Frank, Phillip G.; Moler, Paul E. 1991. Allozyme variation and systematics of the Nerodia fasciata-Nerodia clarkii complex of water snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae). Copeia 1991 (3): 638-659 - get paper here
  • Ljustina, O., Erdmann, J.A. & Doody, J.S. 2017. Nerodia clarkii (Saltmarsh Watersnake) Retreat site / habitat use. Herpetological Review 48 (3): 678-679. - get paper here
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  • Mullin, S.J. & H.R. Mushinsky 1995. Foraging ecology of the mangrove salt marsh snake, Nerodia clarkii compressicauda: effects of vegetational density Amphibia-Reptilia, 16(2): 167-175. - get paper here
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