Nerodia harteri
Encyclopedia
The Brazos water snake or Harter's water snake (Nerodia harteri) is a species
of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid
snake
native to the United States
. It is found only in north-central Texas
along the Brazos River
system. Due to its limited range, it is considered to be a threatened species
in the State of Texas. The epithet harteri is in honor of Philip Harter, who collected the first specimen in Palo Pinto County in 1936.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
native to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is found only in north-central Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
along the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
system. Due to its limited range, it is considered to be a threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
in the State of Texas. The epithet harteri is in honor of Philip Harter, who collected the first specimen in Palo Pinto County in 1936.