• Source: Farancia

Farancia is a genus of colubrid snakes. It consists of two species, one commonly referred to as the rainbow snake (F. erytrogramma) and the other commonly referred to as the mud snake (F. abacura). Both species are native to the southeastern United States.




Description


Adult specimens of Farancia species are usually to 36-54 inches (92–137 cm) in total length (including tail). They are usually dark brown or black dorsally, with a brightly colored underside that is red or orange. Rainbow snakes exhibit red striping down their backs.
The body of Farancia species is cylindrical, robust, and muscular. The smooth, shiny, and iridescent dorsal scales are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. The tail is short, ending in a spine.




Behaviour


Snakes of the genus Farancia are amphibious and semiaquatic, living along the muddy edges and rocks of slow-moving and/or permanent water sources.




Diet


The diet of Farancia species consists primarily of amphiumas, eels, and sirens.




Reproduction


In Farancia breeding occurs in early spring, and eggs are laid in a burrow near the water in early summer. The clutch incubates between 8–12 weeks, and hatches in mid-autumn.




Species and subspecies


Farancia abacura – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Farancia abacura abacura (Holbrook, 1836) – eastern mud snake
Farancia abacura reinwardtii (Schlegel, 1837) – western mud snake
Farancia erytrogramma – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma (Palisot de Beauvois, 1802) – rainbow snake
†Farancia erytrogramma seminola (Neill, 1964) – Florida rainbow snake




References






Further reading


Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Genus Farancia, p. 323).
Gray JE (1842). "Monographic Synopsis of the Water Snakes, or the Family HYDRIDÆ". Zoological Miscellany [2]: 59–68. (Farancia, new genus, p. 68).




External links


Herps of Texas: Farancia abacura
Genus Farancia at The Reptile Database

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Dipsadinae
• Farancia erytrogramma
• Mud snake
• Farancia
• Rainbow snake
• List of marine reptiles
• List of snakes of Florida
• Colubridae
• Potomac River
• List of snakes of Georgia (U.S. state)
• List of snakes of South Carolina