Brown Watersnake vs. Common Watersnake

The two watersnakes of the southeastern rivers and swamps; the Brown Watersnake basks high on branches over the water. A: Square dark blotches down the middle of the back, with a row of squares on each side set between them, all the way from neck to tail in the Brown Watersnake; complete dark crossbands on the front of the body, breaking into alternating blotches toward the tail in the Common Watersnake. B: Brown with darker brown squares in the Brown Watersnake; much black among the brown in the Common Watersnake. The Brown's belly is yellowish, peppered and patched with brown; the Common's has dark half-moons (VHS).

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

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