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Post by sebbe67 on Oct 22, 2005 22:59:23 GMT
Scientific name: Farancia erytrogramma seminola
Description: Record size is 51.5 inches (130.8 cm). Adults are large and thick bodied. The back is iridescent blue-black with a red stripe or line of spots down the middle and an additional reddish-pink stripe on each side. Black spots and speckles occur on every belly scale and lower two rows of scales on side of body. These black markings invade and breakup the red and yellow areas on the belly, throat and chin. The chin is yellow. The tail tip ends in a pointed, horny scale. The scales are mostly smooth, except on the posterior back and sides where they are weekly keeled. There are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juveniles are thought to be simlar in appearance to adults.
Range: In Florida, this subspecies is known only from a single population in Fish Eating Creek, flowing into the west side of Lake Okeechobee, in the southern peninsula. The subspecies does not occur outside of south Florida.
Habitat: It is very rare or possibly extinct. It has only been found in creeks, but it is believed it may also inhabit areas similar to other rainbow snakes.
Comments: . Virtually nothing is known about this snake, but it is believed its life history is simlar to that of other rainbow snakes.
The South Florida rainbow snake is one of the rarest snakes in the United States. Only 3 specimens have been found, between 1949 and 1952. Several searches have been made for it since then but all were unsuccessful. As far as we can discover, no color photographs exist. The ones that appear above were produced by adding computer generated color to black and white photographs of the type specimen in the Florida Museum of Natural History.
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Post by sebbe67 on Oct 22, 2005 23:01:09 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Oct 23, 2005 14:17:40 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Oct 23, 2005 14:19:13 GMT
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Post by sebbe67 on May 29, 2008 20:02:39 GMT
 Source: Snakes of North America, Eastern and Central Regions. Alan Tennant. 2003. |
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Post by another specialist on May 30, 2008 14:02:24 GMT
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Post by another specialist on May 30, 2008 14:15:39 GMT
Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma) Color Photograph: Jeff Boundy, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Some Thamnophis species Some species of garter and ribbon snakes have red stripes. However all of these species are midwestern or western, and do not occur in the southeastern United States. The scales are keeled. Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma) Identification: Snake 35 to 66 inches in length. A cylindrical, chunky species with a thick neck and rounded appearance. Body color shiny black or blue-black with 3 red stripes. Belly red with two rows of black spots. Margins of underside with yellow stripes. Tail short with a sharp spine at its tip. Neck thick with a yellow chin and a row or rectangular spots. Scales smooth and anal plate divided. Geographical Variation: Rainbow Snake (F. e. erytrogramma): Belly red. Range: Southern Maryland in the north, south along the eastern coast to south Florida, and west to the Mississippi River. South Florida Rainbow Snake (F. e. seminola): Belly scales heavily marked with black. Range: Restricted to the Lake Okeechobee, Florida region.Range (see map on left): This species is found in the southern eastern United States from southern Maryland in the north, south along the eastern coast to south Florida, and west to the Mississippi River. Habitat: The Rainbow Snake is semi-aquatic and is found along the sandy shores of streams, rivers, swamps, and marshes. Food: Primarily eels, but younger individuals also hunt salamanders and tadpoles. Behavior: This species is not often seen spending most of its time in burrows in sandy soil or under mats of vegetation near shore. The snake is mostly nocturnal. The Rainbow snake is not aggressive and the spine at the end of the tail is harmless. Reproduction: The clutch consists of 20 to 50 eggs laid in July. The eggs are laid in a cavity in the sandy soil of its habitat. www.nearctica.com/herps/snakes/colubrid/Ferytro.htm |
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Post by carl1981 on Jun 18, 2008 22:00:14 GMT
What a beautiful species of snake!!!! Yet another beautiful species of animal that is gone forever. Has the US Wildlife and Fisheries Board declared this extinct then or Data Deficent?
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Post by Melanie on Jun 19, 2008 0:52:06 GMT
It is still listed as critically endangered by the FWS. What a beautiful species of snake!!!! Yet another beautiful species of animal that is gone forever. Has the US Wildlife and Fisheries Board declared this extinct then or Data Deficent? |
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Post by carl1981 on Jun 20, 2008 10:27:04 GMT
Has the US WFS carried out any extensive searches of this species
former territory recently?
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Post by Peter on Oct 6, 2011 7:48:52 GMT
Two Florida Species Declared ExtinctEndangered Species Review Too Late to Save South Florida Rainbow Snake, Florida Fairy ShrimpJACKSONVILLE, Fla.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that two Florida species, the South Florida rainbow snake and the Florida fairy shrimp, have been determined to be extinct. The finding came in response to a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in 2010 seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the rainbow snake, fairy shrimp and more than 400 aquatic species in the southeastern United States. Last week the Service announced that 374 other freshwater species in the petition, including 114 in Florida, may warrant protection under Act. All of those species will now get an in-depth review. “It’s heart-wrenching to learn that these two unique Florida species have been lost forever. Like most species that go extinct, these two were not protected under the Endangered Species Act, which is the most powerful tool we have for saving our nation’s plants and animals from disappearing,” said Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist with the Center. The South Florida rainbow snake was known only from Fish Eating Creek, which flows into the west side of Lake Okeechobee. The beautiful snake was iridescent bluish-black with red stripes on its back and sides, red and yellow patches on its belly and throat, and a yellow chin. Adults were more than four feet long. It was last seen in 1952. The Florida fairy shrimp was known from a single pond just south of Gainesville. The pond was destroyed by development, and the species hasn’t been detected elsewhere. “The government has to determine quickly whether the 114 other Florida species it’s reviewing will get protection so that more of Florida’s heritage isn’t erased by extinction,” said Curry. “The wellbeing of human society is deeply linked to the health of the natural systems we need to sustain life. In the end, saving species will help save us.” The southeastern United States is home to more unique species of freshwater animals than anywhere else in the world, including mussels, snails and crayfish. Tragically, many of the region’s animals have already been lost to extinction. Earlier this year the Center reached a landmark legal settlement with the Fish and Wildlife Service to expedite protection decisions for 757 imperiled species across the country. Source: www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/florida-extinct-species-10-05-2011.html.
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Post by surroundx on Nov 23, 2011 9:15:57 GMT
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Post by Sebbe on Nov 23, 2011 16:36:21 GMT
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Post by Peter on Mar 24, 2012 15:29:23 GMT
Hunt for rare rainbow snake near Lake Okeechobee comes up empty BY CURTIS MORGAN The South Florida rainbow snake, declared extinct last year, remains that way after a five-day search near Lake Okeechobee. The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Snake Conservation, two groups that called the 2011 declaration by federal wildlife managers premature, announced Wednesday that a survey of prime habitat along Fisheating Creek had come up empty. The last confirmed sighting of a rainbow snake, named for its colorful pattern of red stripes and red and yellow patches on bluish-black skin, was in the 1950s. Despite striking out, Noah Greenwald, endangered species director with the Center for Biological Diversity, said researchers would hunt again when water levels rise in the summer. “We made a solid effort to find the snake, but more surveys are needed before it can be considered lost to extinction,’’ he said. The groups had argued that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should have conducted thorough field surveys before declaring them extinct. There have been unconfirmed sightings in recent years. A dozen experts from the centers and from the wildlife service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took part in the survey in Glades County. The centers also are offering a $500 reward for anyone who provides photographic evidence of a rainbow snake on Fisheating Creek. Source: www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/21/2706250/hunt-for-rare-rainbow-snake-near.html.
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Post by Melanie on Jan 13, 2013 18:17:47 GMT
The access to this article is now free if you have an account at JSTOR. You only have put this item to your shelf and after 14 days you can remove it. |
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Post by Sebbe on Apr 13, 2014 19:10:29 GMT
It is time to go back to Fisheating Creek!It is time for the Center for Snake Conservation to head back to Fisheating Creek and continue their search for the South Florida Rainbow Snake. We are looking for a generous donor who is willing to make a generous charitable contribution to ensure this survey effort has the best opportunity for success. The South Florida Rainbow Snake (SFRS) (Farancia erytrogramma seminola) is a large, aquatic snake only known from Fisheating Creek (FEC) south of Palmdale, Glades County, Florida. The last specimens of the SFRS were collected in 1952 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) deemed this species extinct on October 6, 2011. However, based on the anecdotal sightings over the last 60 years and without an adequate and exhaustive effort to determine the SFRS presence in south Florida, it is premature to make an extinction determination. As rainbow snakes in general are a extremely cryptic species, the Center for Snake Conservation believes that a concentrated biological survey for this taxa is necessary to confirm or deny the validity of this extinct designation beyond reasonable doubt, and to determine the need for and scope of conservation efforts needed for long term survival of this taxa should it, in fact, persist. www.erytrogramma.snakeconservation.org/news/itistimetogobacktofisheatingcreek
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Post by Peter on Jan 1, 2017 18:26:55 GMT
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