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| Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus (Linnaeus, 1766). Photographed in Jackson County, Illinois. Rough Green Snakes are usually associated with water courses in wooded areas. This is an arboreal snake that may forage on the ground. It is usually less than 750 mm in total length, however, the maximum length is probably about 1160 mm. Females lay clutches of 1-14 eggs in June-July, with an average clutch size of about 5.9 eggs. |
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| The Smooth Green Snake, Liochlorophis vernalis (Harlan, 1827). Photographed in Will County, Illinois. O. vernalis ranges from Nova Scotia and Manatoba westward to Utah and New Mexico southeastward to Virginia. It inhabits mesic prairies, bogs, wet meadows, and marsh borders. It is frequently associated with ant nests and it may use the nests for hibernation and egg deposition. |
There are two species of small green colored colubrid snakes in the North American one in the genus Opheodrys, the other in the genus Liochlorophis. Not suprisingly they are commonly called green snakes, and range from southern Canada to northeastern Mexico. The two species have slightly different morphology, and are ecologically distinct. They feed mostly upon arthropods. Lawson et al (2005, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 37:587-601) found evidence for "...a poorly supported clade composed of New World (NW) colubrines including the genera Phyllorhynchus, Spilotes, Tantilla, Sonora, Masticophis, Opheodrys, and Drymarchon (MP), plus Oxybelis ..." |