Farancia erytrogramma
Palissot de Beauvois, 1802
Jasper Co., South Carolina. May 28, 2000.
Back in South Carolina for the second time, I wanted another rainy night in hopes of seeing another mud snake (Farancia abacura). I got the rainy night, but got a rainbow snake instead! Smaller, and not quite as pretty as a mud snake, but still a very interesting creature, an eater of sirens and eels and other creatures from the water. They are inoffensive serpents that never offer to bite, but like the mud snake, will press their sharp spiny tail into your skin. They can also be difficult to photograph, never holding still for more than a few seconds. These snakes are in big trouble and are much diminished across their range. Had I known that I wouldn’t see another rainbow over nearly two decades, I probably would have spent more camera time with this serpent.
My Flickr album for this species is here.
HerpMapper records for this species are here.
