Smooth Green Snake
| Smooth green snake | |
|---|---|
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| Smooth Green Snake sitting in a sand prairie | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Genus: | Opheodrys |
| Species: | O. vernalis |
| Binomial name | |
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Opheodrys vernalis (Harlan, 1827) |
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| Synonyms | |
The smooth greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis) is a nonvenomous North American colubrid. It is also referred to as the grass snake. It is a slender, "small medium" snake that measures 36–51 cm (14–20 in) as an adult. It gets its common name from its smooth dorsal scales, as opposed to the rough green snake, which has keeled dorsal scales. It is found in marshes, meadows, open woods, and along stream edges and is native to regions of Canada, Maine, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, Texas, Michigan and northern Mexico. A non-aggressive snake, it seldom bites and usually flees when threatened. It mates in late spring to summer and females lay their eggs from June to September.
The smooth green snake is slender. In size, it is classified as a "small medium" snake, reaching to 36–51 cm (14–20 in) in total length as an adult. The longest smooth green snake was measured as being 66 cm (26 in) in total length. The tail makes up about 1/4 to 1/2 the total length of the snake; males have longer tails than females.
It is uniform light green on its back, with a yellow or white belly, and has smooth dorsal scales, unlike those of the rough green snake, which are keeled. Its smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 15 rows at midbody.
At birth, its dorsal coloration is different than when it matures. At first, it can be olive green, blue-gray, or even brown, but after it sheds its skin for the first time, it becomes the characteristic bright green. The dorsal coloration can also vary depending on location: bluish in Kansas, olive-tinted light brown in southeastern Texas, and bronze in northern Wisconsin.
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Wikipedia