A slender olive-brown semi-aquatic snake found around clean cool streams. Their diet is almost entirely freshly-molted soft-shell crayfish — an extraordinary specialization.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The queen snake is a species of nonvenomous semiaquatic snake, a member of the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America.
Source: Wikipedia — Queen snake Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Slender olive-brown snake with three pale stripes.
Similar species. Garter Snakes (similar but different prey).
Voice. Hisses defensively.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Eats almost exclusively snail and slug eggs, supplemented with other small prey.
Behavior. Specialized eater of soft-bodied snails. Adults have specialized teeth for crushing shells.
§ Range
Eastern US, west to Mississippi
§ Habitat
Clear cool streams with abundant crayfish
§ Threats
Stream sedimentation, crayfish population declines, water quality decline.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the queen snake is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support clean cool streams. Don't move crayfish between waterways.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Queen snake
- www.nwf.org — authoritative profile of Regina septemvittata
- IUCN Red List · taxon 63870
- iNaturalist · taxon 29385
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Regina septemvittata
§ Sources cited
- The Orianne Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List 2007
