Queensnake (Regina septemvittata)

1/6/2021

Recognized Subspecies in VA: None
Size: 15 - 26 inches
Status: Tier IV

Description & Behavior

The Queensnake is a small, semiaquatic Natricine found throughout the piedmont and mountains of Virginia. It is olive to brown in color with a cream to off-white venter. There are three dark lines down the back (though they can be hard to see in many cases) and four dark lines down the venter. The scales are heavily keeled.

Queensnakes feed nearly exclusively on crayfish. To make matters worse, they struggle with the hard exoskeletons, so they feed only on freshly molted crayfish. Occasionally tadpoles, small fish, and snails have been found in their stomach contents, but these items are rare. Being semiaquatic, Queensnakes must bask frequently. Not only does water lower their body temperature, but staying too wet can cause "scale rot" (ulcerative dermatitis) and/or fungal infections. Drying out completely is a must to keep these infection to a minimum. Female Queensnakes give live birth to 5-23 (usually around 12) ospring per season.

Habitat

Known & Predicted Range

Queensnakes seem to prefer rocky streams with many small branches they can stretch out on to bask. They also can be found along the edge of lakes and ponds (especially with rocky dams) where they seem to really like alders. If you really want to see this species, a sunny morning trip to Natural Bridge State Park is a great way to see these snakes basking in shrubs and on rocks. I have seen over twenty in one morning at the park, but remember in the state parks: look but do not touch.

Similar Species

Note: You can hover over the photos (tap on mobile) and arrows will appear to allow you to move between more photos of the profile species, and similar species for better comparison.

Queensnakes are fairly unique snakes. They are typically only confused with Northern Watersnakes. These two species are often found together and sometimes even bask together. Northern Watersnakes will often have a strong pattern, but near time of shedding, the pattern can be obstructed. Note the Northern Watersnake's size and bulk. Only the juvenile Northern Watersnakes have a similar build to the Queensnake. Northern Watersnakes often have strong labial bars, which are dark bars on the scales along the upper lip, or brown labials and lack the dorsal-ventral contrast that is well defined in Queensnakes. It seems Eastern Ribbonsnakes get confused for Queensnakes from time to time as well. Eastern Ribbonsnakes have three light lines down the body and a white crescent in front of their eye. The Eastern Glossy Swampsnake (not shown) is very similar as well, but is more robust with larger "bug-eyes", a rounder head, larger scales, two lines down the middorsal, and the lines on the venter look more like rows of triangle on most individuals.

Taxonomy & Phylogeny

Current excepted taxonomy

Current phylogeny associated with this group, simplified to show local clades. See more details below.

The genus Reginia contains one other recognized species, the Graham's Crawfish Snake (Regina grahamii) which is found much farther west than Virginia. That said, some phylogenetic studies place the genus inside the genus Nerodia. This means that the genus Nerodia may need to be split or, more likely, Reginia may be absorbed into Nerodia. Some biologists (like the Takeuchi paper) also suggest Graham's Crayfish Snake is closer related to the Florida Green Watersnake (Nerodia floridana), and the Queensnake is closer to the clade that contains our Virginian Nerodia species. Others (like Siegel) place them just outside, but place Graham's Crayfish Snake as a sister species to the Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum). This would suggest Reginia and Tropidoclonion should not be seperate genre. My cladogram reflects a mixture, as the Takeuchi paper is the newer of the two, though most do not place Storeria as a sister clade to Nerodia, but rather Thamnophis. Either way, there will likely be a long taxonomic debate before any of these genre change.

Works Cited

Siegel, Dustin & Trauth, Stanley & Rheubert, Justin & Rabe, Brian & Ruopp, Brenton & Miralles, Aurélien & Murray, Christopher & Aldridge, Robert. (2014). Novel Cloacal Glands in Snakes: The Phylogenetic Distribution of Ventral Urodaeal Glands in Thamnophiini. Herpetologica. 70. 279-289. 10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-13-00097.

Takeuchi H, Savitzky AH, Ding L, et al. (2018). Evolution of nuchal glands, unusual defensive organs of Asian natricine snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae), inferred from a molecular phylogeny. Ecol Evol. 2018;8:10219–10232. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4497