North American Natricine Species
Garter snakes’ closest relatives include the water snakes, brown snakes and queen snakes, among others. Together, these snakes make up a group called the natricines (or Natricinae). Natricines, in turn, belong to the colubrid family (Colubridae), which is the largest family of snakes in the world. Colubrids include most of the world’s harmless species (plus a few rear-fanged venomous species) and the overwhelming majority of pet snakes that aren’t boas or pythons, such as corn snakes and kingsnakes. (Some researchers consider the natricines their own family, completely separate from the colubrids: then they would be called the Natricidae or natricids. We’ll use the older name here, because we have to pick one.)
While there are egg-laying natricines in Eurasia, for example the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix), almost all the natricines in North America give birth to live young.
This is a list of all the natricine snakes found in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. If there are natricines found in Central America but not in Mexico, I haven’t yet found a source that lists them.
Living Species
Mountain Meadow Snakes (Adelophis)
Two poorly understood Mexican species that may be at considerable risk of extinction.
- Cope’s Mountain Meadow Snake, Adelophis copei
- Fox’s Mountain Meadow Snake, Adelophis foxi
Kirtland’s Snake (Clonophis)
A small, single-species genus from the American Midwest.
- Kirtland’s Snake, Clonophis kirtlandii
Water Snakes (Nerodia)
Water snakes are a common sight in eastern North America. Larger, more aquatic and to some extent more aggressive than garter snakes (though that reputation is somewhat exaggerated), water snakes occupy the same ecological niche as several western garter snake species. They are closely related to garter snakes; some research indicates that some water snake species are more closely related to garter snakes than they are to other water snakes.
- Salt Marsh Snake, Nerodia clarkii 3 subspecies
- Gulf Salt Marsh Snake, Nerodia clarkii clarkii
- Mangrove Salt Marsh Snake, Nerodia clarkii compressicauda
- Atlantic Salt Marsh Snake, Nerodia clarkii taeniata
- Mississippi Green Water Snake, Nerodia cyclopion
- Plain-bellied Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster 6 subspecies
- Aguanaval Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster alta
- Nazas Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster bogerti
- Red-bellied Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster erythogaster
- Yellow-bellied Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster
- Copper-bellied Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta
- Blotched Water Snake, Nerodia erythrogaster transversa
- Southern Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata 3 subspecies
- Broad-banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens
- Banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata fasciata
- Florida Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata pictiventris
- Florida Green Water Snake, Nerodia floridana
- Brazos River Water Snake, Nerodia harteri
- Concho Water Snake, Nerodia paucimaculata
- Diamond-backed Water Snake, Nerodia rhombifer 3 subspecies
- Tampico Water Snake, Nerodia rhombifer blanchardi
- Diamond-backed Water Snake, Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer
- Tabasco Water Snake, Nerodia rhombifer werleri
- Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon 4 subspecies
- Lake Erie Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon insularum
- Midland Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon pleuralis
- Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon
- Carolina Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon williamengelsi
- Brown Water Snake, Nerodia taxispilota
Crayfish and Queen Snakes (Regina)
Aquatic snakes that specialize in eating crayfish; queen snakes go one step further, eating only freshly moulted crayfish. Incredibly difficult to keep in captivity.
- Striped Crayfish Snake, Regina alleni
- Graham’s Crayfish Snake, Regina grahamii
- Glossy Crayfish Snake, Regina rigida 3 subspecies
- Delta Crayfish Snake, Regina rigida deltae
- Glossy Crayfish Snake, Regina rigida rigida
- Gulf Crayfish Snake, Regina rigida sinicola
- Queen Snake, Regina septemvittata
Swamp Snakes (Seminatrix)
Aquatic snakes that spend their time in cypress swamps. Also difficult captives.
- Black Swamp Snake, Seminatrix pygaea 3 subspecies
- South Florida Swamp Snake, Seminatrix pygaea cyclas
- Carolina Swamp Snake, Seminatrix pygaea paludis
- North Florida Swamp Snake, Seminatrix pygaea pygaea
Brown and Red-bellied Snakes (Storeria)
A common sight throughout their range, these tiny, gentle and terribly cute snakes almost never bite. They generally feed on soft-bodied invertebrates, especially slugs.
- Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi 7 subspecies
- Dugès’s Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi anomala
- Northern Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi dekayi
- Marsh Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi limnetes
- Trapido’s Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi temporalineata
- Texas Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi texana
- Tropical Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi tropica
- Midland Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi wrightorum
- Mexican Yellow-bellied Brown Snake, Storeria hildagoensis
- Mexican Brown Snake, Storeria storerioides
- Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata 3 subspecies
- Florida Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata obscura
- Northern Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata
- Black Hills Red-bellied Snake, Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae
- Florida Brown Snake, Storeria victa
Garter Snakes (Thamnophis)
The most common, least specialized and most adaptable genus of natricine in North America, garter snakes occupy a middle ground between the small, invertebrate-eating species (Clonophis, Storeria, Tropidoclonion and Virginia) and the larger, more aquatic species (Nerodia, Regina, Seminatrix). Garter snakes are found in nearly every ecological niche and in nearly every Canadian province and U.S. and Mexican state.
See the main species page for a list of garter snake species.
Lined Snakes (Tropidoclonion)
- Lined Snake, Tropidoclonion lineatum
Earth Snakes (Virginia)
- Mountain Earth Snake, Virginia pulchra
- Rough Earth Snake, Virginia striatula
- Smooth Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae 2 subspecies
- Western Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae elegans
- Eastern Earth Snake, Virginia valeriae valeriae
Extinct Prehistoric Species
Holman (2000) lists the following species of natricine identified in the fossil record:
- Neonatrix elongata (Miocene epoch, Nebraska and South Dakota)
- Neonatrix infera (Miocene epoch, Texas)
- Neonatrix magna (Miocene epoch, Nebraska)
- Nerodia hibbardi (Pliocene epoch, Idaho)
- Nerodia hillmani (Pliocene epoch, Kansas)
- Regina intermedia (Pleistocene epoch, Florida)
Sources
Collins, Joseph T. and Travis W. Taggart. 2002. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles and Crocodilians, 5th ed.
Gibbons, J. Whitfield and Michael E. Dorcas. 2004. North American Watersnakes: A Natural History. Norman OK: Oklahoma University Press.
Holman, J. Alan 2000. Fossil Snakes of North America: Origin, Evolution, Distribution, Paleoecology. Bloomington and Indiapolis: Indiana University Press.
Liner, Ernest A. 1994. Scientific and Common Names for the Amphibians and Reptiles of Mexico in English and Spanish. SSAR Herpetological Circular No. 23.
Rossman, Douglas A., Neil B. Ford and Richard A. Seigel. 1996. The Garter Snakes: Evolution and Ecology. Norman OK: Oklahoma University Press.
SSAR Committee on Standard English and Scientific Names. 2000. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. SSAR Herpetological Circular No. 29.