''Opheodrys'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small to medium-sized nonvenomous

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. As their common names imply, the

rough green snake ''Opheodrys aestivus'', commonly known as the rough green snake, is a nonvenomous North American colubrid. It is sometimes called grass snake or green grass snake, but these names are more commonly applied to the smooth green snake (''Opheodrys ...

has keeled

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

, whereas the

smooth green snake The smooth green snake (''Opheodrys vernalis'') is a species of North American nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is also referred to as the grass snake. It is a slender, "small medium" snake that measures as an adult. It g ...

has smooth

Species

Valid species

The following two species are recognized as being valid. *''

Opheodrys aestivus ''Opheodrys aestivus'', commonly known as the rough green snake, is a venom (poison), nonvenomous North American Colubridae, colubrid. It is sometimes called grass snake or green grass snake, but these names are more commonly applied to the smoo ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1766) – rough green snake *''

Opheodrys vernalis ''Opheodrys'' is a genus of small to medium-sized nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct species. As their common names imply, the rough green snake has keeled dorsa ...

'' (

Harlan Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname * Abram D. Harlan (1833–1908), American politician from Pennsylvania * Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive * Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), America ...

, 1827) – smooth green snake ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Opheodrys''.

Species removed from the genus

The genus ''Opheodrys'' at one time included two Asian species: ''O. herminae'', which is endemic to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and ''O. major'', which is endemic to Central/South

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, N.

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. These were removed from the genus by Cundall in 1981 *''Opheodrys herminae'' ( Boettger, 1895) = ''

Ptyas herminae The Sakishima green snake (''Ptyas herminae'') is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the Yaeyama Islands in the southern Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Etymology The specific name, ''herminae'', is in honor of Boe ...

'' (Boettger, 1895) – Sakashima green snake *''Opheodrys major'' ( Günther, 1858) = ''

Ptyas major ''Ptyas'' is a genus of colubrid snakes. This genus is one of several colubrid genera colloquially called " rat snakes" or "ratsnakes". The generic name derives from Ancient Greek πτυάς, meaning " spitter", which referred to a kind of s ...

'' (Günther, 1858) – greater green snake

Subspecies no longer recognized

The following

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of ''Opheodrys'' are no longer recognized by ITIS: *''

Opheodrys aestivus aestivus ''Opheodrys'' is a genus of small to medium-sized nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct species. As their common names imply, the rough green snake has keeled dorsa ...

'' (

, 1766) – northern rough green snake *''

Opheodrys aestivus carinatus ''Opheodrys'' is a genus of small to medium-sized nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct species. As their common names imply, the rough green snake has keeled dorsa ...

'' Grobman, 1984 – Florida rough green snake *''

Opheodrys vernalis blanchardi ''Opheodrys'' is a genus of small to medium-sized nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct species. As their common names imply, the rough green snake has keeled dorsa ...

'' Grobman, 1941 – western smooth green snake *''

Opheodrys vernalis borealis ''Opheodrys'' is a genus of small to medium-sized nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as green snakes. In North America the genus consists of two distinct species. As their common names imply, the rough green snake has keeled dorsa ...

'' Grobman, 1992 – northern smooth green snake *'' Opheodrys vernalis vernalis'' (

, 1827) – eastern smooth green snake. However, as of May 2023, The Reptile Database still recognizes the subspecies ''O. aestivus carinatus'' in addition to the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

''O. a. aestivus''.

Geographic range

Green snakes of the genus ''Opheodrys'' are found in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Description

Green snakes are so named because they are typically solid

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

in color dorsally, with a cream-colored or

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

underside. They are thin-bodied snakes that rarely exceed 90 cm (around 36 inches) in length. They have large

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

s and blunt shaped heads.

Habitat

Green snakes are often found in dense, low lying vegetation near a permanent water source. Behler JL, King FW (1979). ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. . (''Opheodrys'', pp. 639–641+ Plates 475–477).

Behavior

Green snakes have been known to follow human activity. They rely on their color for camouflage and will usually attempt to escape if threatened.

Diet

Their primary

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

is soft-bodied

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, including

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

, and

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

Reproduction

Green snakes of the genus ''Opheodrys'' are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

. Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (''Opheodrys'', pp. 118–121, Figures 27–28 + Plate 12 on p. 332).

References

External links

Smooth Green Snake – ''Opheodrys vernalis''
Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Laws Related to Native Wildlife
"The following list of species native to Georgia may not be held as a pet regardless of its origin or morphology: …, Rough Green Snake, …" {{Authority control Snake genera Snakes of North America Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger

Species

Valid species

Species removed from the genus

Subspecies no longer recognized

Geographic range

Description

Habitat

Behavior

Diet

Reproduction

References

Further reading

External links