The Mud snake (Farancia abacura) is a nonvenomous, semiaquatic snake native to the southeastern United States. This snake spends most of its time in the water but hibernates in cavities in soil or old tree stumps.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Red AnimalsThe upperside of the Mud snake is glossy black in color. The underside is red and black, and the red extends up the sides to form bars of reddish pink. Although, some have a completely black body with slightly lighter black spots instead of the common reddish colors. Its body is heavy and cylindrical in cross-section, and the short tail has a terminal spine. Females of this species are larger than males in total length.
Mud snakes are found in the southeastern United States, in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. They inhabit the edges of streams and cypress swamps, slow mud-bottomed streams, floodplains, drainage ditches, and among dense vegetation or underground debris.
Mud snakes are almost fully aquatic and rarely leave the water, except to lay eggs, hibernate, or during drought escape drying wetlands. They are active during the night and when hunting these snakes are known to use their sharply pointed tails to prod prey items; this behavior has led to the nickname "stinging snake", although their tail is not a stinger and cannot sting.
Mud snakes are carnivores. They prey mostly on giant aquatic salamanders, but also eat other amphibians.
Mud snakes are polygynous, meaning that males mate with more than one female. Breeding occurs in the spring, mostly in the months of April and May. Eight weeks after mating, the female lays 4 to 111 eggs in a nest dug out of moist soil, sometimes in alligator nests. She will remain with her eggs until they hatch, in the fall, usually September or October. Once hatched, the young are fully independent and are able to fend for themselves. They become reproductively mature at about 2.5 years of age.
There are no major threats facing Mud snakes at present.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Mud snake total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.