Common Watersnake vs. Diamondback Watersnake

Both are heavy brown watersnakes with keeled scales and half-moons on the belly. On a Common Watersnake the dark marks are separate: crossbands near the head, then blotches on the back alternating with blotches on the sides. On a Diamondback the dark marks join at their corners into a chain or net that leaves pale diamond-shaped patches down the back. Young of both are boldly marked and easy to confuse — look for whether the bands stay separate or link into a chain. Diamondbacks are known in Indiana only from the lower Wabash and Ohio in the far southwest.

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

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