| 22"-53" long, reddish brown to brownish black with dark crossbands
on the neck region and alternating dark blotches on the back and sides
which are wider than the spaces between them. Pattern darkens with
age, becoming completely black. Found throughout the eastern and
central U.S., in most aquatic habitats including saltmarshes. Active
day and night, and frequently basks along the shore. Eats a variety
of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, such as fish, amphibians, mammals,
and crustaceans. Bite is bad, and has an anticoagulant in saliva
which causes wounds to bleed profusely. |
