andrew9849's Identifications

NUMBER: 20230810
SPECIES: Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus (Linnaeus, 1766)
OTHER NAMES: Subspecies are controversial.
SPECIMEN: 1 adult
DISTINCTIONS: Aboral in branches of trees and shrubs. Elongated body with a long, slender tail totaling 32 in (81 cm). Scales along the back and sides are weakly keeled, making it feel rough to the touch.
DATE, TIME: 10 August 2023, 12:56 PM
LOCALITY: Still Water, Oklahoma
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 36.115319, -97.046859
DISTRIBUTION: Southeastern USA to central Oklahoma. Our record is either new or on the very edge of its range.
VALUE: Eats aboral insects and other invertebrates
SIMILAR SPECIES: Smooth Greens Snake lacks keeled scales, and is smaller and has larger eyes.
OBSERVERS: Dr. Ernest H. Williams, Jr.,[3,4,6,7] and Dr. Lucy Bunkley-Williams[3,5,6,8]
REFERENCES:
<>Plummer, M. V. 1997. Population ecology of green snakes (Opheodrys aestivus) revisited. Herpetological Monographs 11:102-123.
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2023. Record of a Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus (Linnaeus), near the edge of its known range. iNaturalist #???, 15 August 2023 (open access), ResearchGate [878].
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and usually condensed. The original text is in our reprint #878 and ResearchBase. [2]Suggested common name as there is no English one. [3]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [4]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [5]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [6]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [7]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; cell 239-227-3645, ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [8]Cell 787-467-2179, e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x