Nerodia harteri
(Trapido, 1941)
NEH-roh-DEE-uh — HAR-ter-eye
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
The English name was changed from "Brazos River Watersnake" to align it with the Concho Watersnake.
(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: 2023.04.10.07.49.10)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.13 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Texas
Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of a U.S. collector.
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.
harteri — A patronym honoring Philip Harter (1887-1971) of Palo Pinto County, Texas, the collector of the holotype, reflecting his contributions to discovering and documenting this Texas-endemic snake.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Harter's Water Snake (Natrix harteri: 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.); Brazos Water Snake (Natrix harteri: 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:
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1938
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Clay, William M. A synopsis of the North American water snakes of the genus Natrix. Copeia 1938(4):173-182
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1941
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Trapido, Harold. A new species of Natrix from Texas. American Midland Naturalist 25(3):673-680
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1972
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Baker, Robert J., George A. Mengden, and James J. Bull. Karyotypic studies of thirty-eight species of North American snakes . Copeia 1972(2):257-265
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1983
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Mecham, John S. Nerodia harteri. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (330):1-2
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1991
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Collins, Joseph T. Viewpoint: A new taxonomic arrangement for some North American amphibins and reptiles Herpetological Review 22(2):42-43
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1992
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Densmore, Llewellyn D., III, Francis L. Rose, and Stephanie J. Kain. Mitochondrial DNA evolution and speciation in water snakes (genus Nerodia) with special reference to Nerodia harteri. Herpetologica 48(1):60-68
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2014
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Crother, Brian I. The bold taxonomic hypotheses of Collins (1991): 23 years later. Herpetological Review 45(2):268-272
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