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Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Natricidae  
Mississippi Green Watersnake
Nerodia cyclopion (Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854)
NEH-roh-DEE-uh — SIGH-kloh-pee-on
Taxon Links
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SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Open icons indicate questionable records, including those with coordinate uncertainty greater than 10,000 m (approximately 6 miles). Click a marker to view metadata.
Occurrences:; 3,225 Total; 2,147 Museum; 1,078 Other

The locality database contains 8,094,832 records, and geographic and taxonomic errors exist. Logged-in, registered users may report a potential issue directly from the marker popup.
Shaded range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH. (Version: 2023.04.10.07.49.10)
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Arkansas Florida Illinois Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Tennessee Texas

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for the partial fusion of its scales around the eye.
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.
cyclopion — From Greek Kyklōps (Κύκλωψ), meaning “Cyclops,” referring to the fusion of subocular scales forming a single scale beneath the eye, reminiscent of a cyclopean structure.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Water Snake (Tropidonotus cyclopium: 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 (Natrix cyclopion: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources,. William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Cyclops Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 47():376-407); Water Snake (Natrix cylopium: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Cyclops Water Snake (Tropidonotus cyclopeum: Brown, Arthur, E. 1902. Report of the Board of Directors. Pages 5-22 in Thirtieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Allen, Lane, and Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp.); Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopium: Hurter, Julius. 1911. Herpetology of Missouri. Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis 20(5):59-274); Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion: 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.); Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion cyclopion: 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.); Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion cyclopion: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);


Selected References:
1854 Dumeril, A. M. Constant, Gabriel Bibron, and Auguste H. A. Dumeril. Erpetologie Generale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete Des Reptiles. Tome Septieme - Premiere Partie. [General Herpetology or Complete Natural History of Reptiles. Volume Seven - First Part.]. Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, Paris, France. 780pp.
1938 Clay, William M. A synopsis of the North American water snakes of the genus Natrix. Copeia 1938(4):173-182
1987 Lawson, Robin. Molecular Studies of Thamnophiine Snakes: 1. The Phylogeny of the Genus Nerodia. Journal of Herpetology 21(2):140-157

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