Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis
Northern Ribbon Snake

Montgomery Co., Indiana.
April 8, 1996

This snake is similar to the Eastern Ribbon Snake, but is shorter with a shorter tail, and has darker background colors and the middorsal stripe is sometimes muddied with brown. 

This snake was photographed in situ, amongst a pile of broken shale along a creek bank. It was a bright, sunny day in the low fifties, but rocks in the open sun are quite a bit warmer than the ambient air temperature.