Nerodia clarkii
(Baird and Girard, 1853)
NEH-roh-DEE-uh — KLARK-ee-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Rautsaw et al. (2021, Molecular Biology and Evolution 38: 745–760) demonstrated reduced gene flow due to isolation by environment between N. clarkii and N. fasciata. While showing that the three subspecies of N. clarkii can be detected using genomic data; the authors also demonstrated significant gene flow among these lineages. The authors suggest that these subspecies may result from isolation by distance, thus questioning the continued recognition of these taxa.
(Boundy, Jeff, Frank T. Burbrink, and Sara Ruane. 2025. Squamata (excluding lizards) – Snakes. Pages 38-54 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.02.10.08.04.10)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.45 MB
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of a 19th-century American explorer and soldier.
Nerodia — From Greek neron (νερόν), meaning “water,” and possibly hodos (ὁδός), meaning “path” or “way,” though the construction is irregular. The name alludes to the aquatic nature of these snakes.
clarkii — A patronym honoring William Clark (1770–1838), of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, for his contributions to early American natural history.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Clark's Snake (Tropidonotus clarki: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Flat-tailed Water Snake (Tropidonotus compressicaudus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Florida Water Snake (Tropidonotus compsolaemus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Yellow Water Snake (Tropidonotus ustus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Clark's Water Snake (Natrix clarkii: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Clark's Water Snake (Natrix sipedon clarkii: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Flat-tailed Water Snake (Natrix sipedon compressicauda: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Gulf Salt Marsh Snake (Natrix sipedon clarki: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Mangrove Water Snake (Natrix sipedon compressicauda: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Atlantic Salt Marsh Snake (Natrix sipedon taeniata: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
The Reptile Database
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
|
1853
|
Baird, Spencer F. and Charles Girard. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1. Serpents. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 2(5):xvi + 172
|
|
1938
|
Clay, William M. A synopsis of the North American water snakes of the genus Natrix. Copeia 1938(4):173-182
|
|
1991
|
Lawson, Robin, Albert J. Meier, Phillip G. Frank, and Paul E. Moler. Allozyme variation and systematics of the Nerodia fasciata-Nerodia clarkii complex of water snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae) . Copeia 1991(3):638-659
|
|
2021
|
Rautsaw, Rhett M., Tristan D. Schramer, Rachel Acuña, Lindsay N. Arick, Mark DiMeo, Kathryn P. Mercier, Michael Schrum, Andrew J. Mason, Mark J. Margres,, Jason L. Strickland, and Christopher L. Parkinson. Genomic adaptations to salinity resist gene flow in the evolution of Floridian Watersnakes. Molecular Biology and Evolution 38(3):745–760
|