Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Glossy Swampsnake

Liodytes rigida

(Say, 1825)

Glossy Swampsnake

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105389
Element CodeARADB27030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyColubridae
GenusLiodytes
Synonyms
Regina rigida(Say, 1825)
Other Common Names
glossy crayfish snake (EN) Glossy Crayfish Snake (EN)
Concept Reference
Ernst, C. H., J. W. Gibbons, and M. E. Dorcas. 2002. Regina. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 756:1-4.
Taxonomic Comments
Based on multi-locus nuclear data, McVay and Carstens (2013) resurrected the genus Liodytes for snakes previously referred to Regina alleni, Regina rigida, and Seminatrix pygaea.

Subspecies deltae is weakly differentiated from subspecies sinicola (Dundee and Rossman 1989).
Conservation Status
Review Date2006-09-04
Change Date1996-10-30
Edition Date2006-09-04
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Range Extent Comments
The range extends from Virginia (Buhlman et al., 1993, Herpetol. Rev. 24:156-157) to northern Florida, west to eastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma; most of the range is on the Coastal Plain, except in the northwestern portion (Webb 1970, Mount 1975, Dundee and Rossman 1989, Conant and Collins 1991, Palmer and Braswell 1995, Werler and Dixon 2000, Ernst and Ernst 2003, Gibbons and Dorcas 2004, Trauth et al. 2004).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations) (see county distribution map in Gibbons and Dorcas 2004). Due to the snake's secretive habits, it is likely that more occurrences are yet to be discovered. For example, this species was not detected in North Carolina until 1954, yet Palmer and Braswell (1995) noted that 51 records were then known from that state.
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known. Presumably habitat loss and degradation have caused local declines, but this snake likely is not threatened in most of its range.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitats include slow waters of lowland areas, such as swamps, nontidal and tidal freshwater marshes, sphagnum bogs, pocosins, seepage wetlands, ponds, lakes, flatwoods ponds, cypress ponds, bayous, rice fields, canals, drainage ditches, mucky areas along streams, and floodplains; also sometimes grassy or wooded upland habitats adjacent to wetlands (Ernst and Ernst 2003, Gibbons and Dorcas 2004). Usually this snake is secluded in burrows (e.g., crayfish, muskrat), under mats of wet vegetation or debris at the water's edge, or among aquatic plants, but occasionally it basks on banks or on vegetation over water. It may travel on land during rain.

Reproduction

Gives birth to 6-16 young in summer (Ashton and Ashton 1981, Behler and King 1979)
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDSCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MississippiS3Yes
FloridaS4Yes
VirginiaS1Yes
TexasS5Yes
GeorgiaS4Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
OklahomaS1Yes
ArkansasS3Yes
North CarolinaS2Yes
South CarolinaS3Yes
LouisianaS5Yes
Roadless Areas (4)
Florida (2)
AreaForestAcres
Natural Area WsaOsceola National Forest2,543
SavannahApalachicola National Forest1,927
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Pond Pine BCroatan National Forest2,961
Sheep Ridge AdditionCroatan National Forest5,808
References (22)
  1. Alfaro, M. E., and S. J. Arnold. 2001. Molecular systematics and evolution of Regina and the thamnophiine snakes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21:408-423.
  2. Ashton, R. E., Jr., and P. S. Ashton. 1981. Handbook of reptiles and amphibians of Florida. Part One: The Snakes. Windward Publishing Company, Miami, Florida. 176 pp.
  3. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  4. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  5. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  6. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  7. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  8. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  9. Dundee, H. A., and D. A. Rossman. 1989. The amphibians and reptiles of Louisiana. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.
  10. Ernst, C. H., and E. M. Ernst. 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.
  11. Ernst, C. H., J. W. Gibbons, and M. E. Dorcas. 2002. Regina. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 756:1-4.
  12. Gibbons, J. W., and M. E. Dorcas. 2004. North American watersnakes: a natural history. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. xxvi + 439 pp.
  13. McVay, J. D., and B. Carstens. 2013. Testing monophyly without well-supported gene trees: evidence from multi-locus nuclear data conflicts with existing taxonomy in the snake tribe Thamnophiini. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 68:425-431.
  14. Mitchell, J. C. 1994. The reptiles of Virginia. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. xv + 352 pp.
  15. Mount, R. H. 1975. The reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, Alabama. vii + 347 pp.
  16. Palmer, W. M., and A. L. Braswell. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
  17. Tennant, A. 1984. The Snakes of Texas. Texas Monthly Press, Austin, Texas. 561 pp.
  18. Tennant, A. 1997. A field guide to snakes of Florida. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xiii + 257 pp.
  19. Tennant, A. 1998. A field guide to Texas snakes. Second edition. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas.
  20. Trauth, S. E., H. W. Robison, and M. V. Plummer. 2004. The amphibians and reptiles of Arkansas. University of Arkansas Press.
  21. Webb, R. G. 1970. Reptiles of Oklahoma. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 370 pp.
  22. Werler, J. E., and J. R. Dixon. 2000. Texas snakes: identification, distribution, and natural history. University of Texas Press, Austin. xv + 437 pp.