Rainbow Snakes

This is a hatchling Northern Rainbow Snake Rainbow Snakes, Farancia erytrogramma ssp (2 subspecies) were once relatively common but are now considered uncommon to very rare. The southernmost subspecies, the South Florida rainbow snake, F. e. seminola, known only from 3 examples and not seen for the last several decades, has now been declared extinct. Believers continue to hope this is not true and searches continue. The northern rainbow snake, F. e. erytrogramma, adult at 4 to 5 feet in length and nonvenomous (it can rarely be induced to bite!), once ranged south along the coastal plain from the southern tip of MD to central FL, and westward to eastern LA. It has not been seen over much of this range for a very long time. In fact, deservedly or not, one found recently (Feb 2020) in central FL was given headline publicity. It is quite likely that river damming and the corresponding marked reduction in the catadromous American eel, the primary prey item of the rainbow snake, is the main cause of the greatly lessened numbers of the rainbow snake. Both subspecies are shown herewith The South Florida rainbow snake, much the darker of the two, is a preserved specimen at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Preserved South Florida Rainbow Snake

In many areas, where once common, Northern Rainbow Snakes are infrequently seen.