Farancia abacura
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The mud snake (Farancia abacura) is a species of nonvenomous, semiaquatic, colubrid snake endemic to the southeastern United States. The mud snake usually grows to a total length (including tail) of 40 to 54 inches (1-1.4 m), with the record total length being slightly over 80 inches (2 m).
This species is sexually dimorphic in size. Female adults are larger than males in total length. The upperside of the mud snake is glossy black. The underside is red and black, and the red extends up the sides to form bars of reddish-pink, although some have a completely black body with slightly lighter black spots instead of the common reddish colors.
The heavy body is cylindrical in cross section, and the short tail has a terminal spine. The head scalation is distinctive in that there is only one internasal scale, no preocular scale, and one anterior temporal scale. The dorsal scales are smooth, and are arranged in 19 rows at midbody. There are 168–208 ventral scales and 31–55 subcaudal scales. The anal plate is divided.
Farancia abacura is closely related to Farancia erytrogramma, also called the rainbow snake. There are two recognized subspecies of Farancia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mudsnake sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 35 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, May, August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mudsnake in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, June–July, September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mudsnake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Mudsnake sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 30%) and Everglades National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Mudsnake that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are North American Racer (about 30%), Banded Water Snake (about 20%) and Corn Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mudsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
