THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-snakes)    Natricidae  

Florida Green Watersnake
Nerodia floridana (Goff, 1936)
NEH-roh-DEE-uh — flor-ih-DAY-nuh

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 2,865 Total; 1,343 Museum; 1,522 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Alabama Florida Georgia South Carolina

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its geographic association with Florida.
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.
floridana — Latinized form meaning “of Florida,” indicating the species’ primary range and type locality.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Florida Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion floridana: 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.); Florida Green Water Snake (Natrix cyclopion floridana: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1936 Goff, Carlos C. Distribution and variation of a new subspecies of water snake, Natrix cyclopion floridana, with a discussion of its relationships. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (327):1-12
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

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 27 July 2026 16:54 CT