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Project Noah Nature School
Nerodia erythrogaster transversa
For some reason, this water snake liked to flick its tongue out then sideways. In the second photo, you can see the windpipe as it flashed its mouth. The windpipe extends almost to the edge of the mouth in snakes so they can breathe while swallowing prey. As you can see, it flattened out its head to try to appear venomous, but this snake is harmless. In Oklahoma, nonvenomous snakes have round pupils and venomous snakes have slit pupils. It's funny how Nerodia sp. are so much more bitey and aggressive than the actual venomous species that we have that are "known" for their aggression. There were several cottonmouths and rattlesnakes caught this day and location, and they were far less aggressive than this guy.
Water
Spotted on Jul 6, 2013
Submitted on Jul 8, 2013
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