Animal
Northern water snake
Nerodia sipedon
A non-venomous semi-aquatic snake of eastern North America — and the snake most often misidentified as a venomous water moccasin (which doesn't occur in NYC). Common at Staten Island's freshwater ponds, wetlands, and slow streams. Feeds on fish, amphibians, and crayfish. Aggressive defensive behavior when cornered, but harmless to humans.
Scientific
Nerodia sipedon is a 2–4.5 ft non-venomous water-adapted colubrid. Active by day; basks on logs, rocks, and overhanging branches above water. Diet: fish (~70%), amphibians, [[red-swamp-crawfish|crayfish]], occasional small mammals. Live-bearer; litters of 20–60.
Heavily persecuted across its range due to misidentification as the venomous cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus — which does not occur naturally in [[beacon-ny|New York]]). The two species look superficially similar but cottonmouths’ range is well south of NYC.
On Staten Island
Common at the borough’s freshwater habitats. Silver Lake, [[mount-loretto-unique-area|Mount Loretto]]‘s pond, Wolfe’s Pond, Greenbelt wetlands. Often seen basking on rocks and logs above water in warm weather. Will swim across open water; can stay submerged for extended periods while hunting fish.
Defensive behavior includes hissing, flattening the head, and biting if cornered — but the species is non-venomous and bites are minor. The species is one of the most-frequently-killed snakes in the Northeast due to misidentification.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State DEC reptile species records
- NYC Parks Wildlife Unit observations
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