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Brazos Water Snake






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Brazos Water Snake

Brazos Water Snake (Nerodia harteri)

Named after the mighty Brazos River herself, the Nerodia harteri, more commonly known as the Brazos Water Snake, are a friendly resident of Texas rivers. This fish-eating snake is just one of species of interest considered threatened in the Brazos River basin.


Protection Status

The Brazos Water Snake is recognized as threatened by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is protected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code.


Location

The Brazos Water Snake has one of the most restricted ranges of any Texas snake, found only along the upper portions of the Brazos River drainage. This includes the shorelines of Lake Granbury and Lake Possum Kingdom where observation rates hint at higher abundance than in riverine sections. Click Here To View Map


Description

The Brazos Water Snake is a mix of brown and gray or a green and brown combination. They can be identified by the four rows of dark dorsal spots that run the length of its body, giving it a checkerboard appearance. The snake has a pink or orange-colored belly and its neck is often a yellow or cream color.


Habitat

The Brazos Water Snake enjoys residing in water that is fast-flowing and rocky, and free of dense vegetation, according to University of Texas Press research. This snake takes cover under rocks in water or in vegetation along shore. Juveniles use medium to large, flat rocks on unshaded shores for hiding and rocky shallows for feeding, while adults inhabit rocky riffles as well as a wider range of habitats in pools and lakes, according the Journal of Herpetology.


Behavior and Diet

A day-time hunter, the Brazos Water Snake requires rocks within its habitat to provide cover and security. They typically eat small fish but have been recorded eating a variety of salamanders, frogs, and crayfish.


Brazos Water Snake

Breeding Season

The Brazos Water Snake gives birth to as many as 23 live young between the months of September and October.


Ongoing Research/Conservation Efforts

Curent research includes a large project funded by the BRA and administered by Bio-West and Tarleton State in the riverine sections of the Brazos above lake Whitney looking at distribution, habitat association, thermal preference, snake fungal disease, and reproduction.

A sister project funded by the Texas State Comptroller’s Natural Resources Program awarded to Texas State University is doing similar research on the lake habitat sections as well as on the Conchos Water Snake in Colorado River basin reservoirs. The Brazos River Authority under advisement of TPWD has committed to using stabilization rip-rap in the 6-8” range which produces smaller cavities conducive to the smaller bodied snake in our shore armoring projects.

The TPWD Conservation License Plate program (Conservation License Plate (conservationplate.org)) purchased material to increase habitat at Thorp Spring Park on Lake Granbury with labor provided by the BRA. More research, conservation, and habitat protections are needed to better understand and protect this species into the future.


For more information on the Brazos Water Snake, go to:


Citations


Read more about the other threatened species of interest here.