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Farancia abacura (HOLBROOK, 1836)

IUCN Red List - Farancia abacura - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesFarancia abacura abacura (HOLBROOK 1836)
Farancia abacura reinwardtii SCHLEGEL 1837 
Common NamesE: abacura: Eastern Mud Snake
reinwardtii: Western Mud Snake
G: Schlammnatter 
SynonymHelicops abacurus HOLBROOK 1836: 119
Coluber abacuras HOLBROOK 1836: 119 (fide MALNATE 1971: 362)
Farancia drummondi GRAY 1842: 68
Farancia abacurus — BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 123
Calopisma Abacurum — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 342
Calopisma Abacura — DUMÉRIL 1856: 248
Hydrops abacurus — GARMAN 1884: 36
Hydrops abacura — SCLATER 1891: 45
Farancia abacura — ERNST & ERNST 2003: 126
Farancia abacura — MATTISON 2007: 153
Farancia abacura — CROTHER et al. 2012
Farancia abacura — WALLACH et al. 2014: 295

Farancia abacura abacura (HOLBROOK 1836)
Helicops abacurus HOLBROOK 1836: 119
Farancia abacura abacura — SMITH 1938: 112
Farancia abacura abacura — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 182
Homolopsis crassa BLYTH 1854: 300 (fide BAUER & DAS 1999)
Farancia abacura abacura — CROTHER 2000: 62
Farancia abacura abacura — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 293
Farancia abacura abacura — CROTHER et al. 2012
Farancia abacura abacura — GUYER et al. 2018

Farancia abacura reinwardtii (SCHLEGEL, 1837)
Homalopsis reinwardtii SCHLEGEL 1837: 173
Calopisma Reinwardti — MÜLLER 1881
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — SMITH 1938: 116
Farancia abacura reinwardti — MEHRTENS 1987: 187
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 182
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — CROTHER 2000: 62
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 295
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — CROTHER et al. 2012
Farancia abacura reinwardtii — GUYER et al. 2018 
DistributionUSA (E Texas, S/E Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, S/E North Carolina, E Virginia, W Tennessee, SE Missouri, S Illinois, W Kentucky)

Type locality: South Carolina.

reinwardtii: USA (Florida, E Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama); Type locality: Louisiana  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ANSP 5164
Lectotype: MNHN-RA 3399, adult female donated by Teinturier before 1837, collector, date and exact locality unknown [reinwardtii] 
Diagnosis 
CommentDescribed in HOLBROOK 1842: 107, vol. 3, fide DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854. Illustration in Reptilia (Münster) 8 (2): 20.

Type species: Coluber abacurus HOLBROOK 1836 is the type species of the genus Farancia Gray 1842: 68.

Diet: newts (Siren, Amphiuma), frogs (Rana), tadpoles

Distribution: see map in Mitchell 1982. 
EtymologyThe specific epithet is probably derived from the Greek abakos (an abacus), in reference to the tesselated red and black venter (fide Mitchell 1982).

The genus name may be completely made up by Gray. Neither Beltz 2007 nor Gotch 1986 have a plausible origin for this name and speculate that Gray just coined it. 
References
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  • Allen, Morrow J. 1932. A survey of the Amphibians and reptiles of Harrison County, Mississippi. American Museum Novitates (542): 1-20 - get paper here
  • Auffenberg, W. 1948. Range Extension of Farancia abacura reinwardtii in Texas Herpetologica 4 (6): 193. - get paper here
  • Baird, S. F. and C. Girard. 1853. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1.-Serpents. Smithsonian Inst., Washington, xvi + 172 pp. - get paper here
  • Bauer,A.M. & Das,I. 1999. North Carolina reptiles and amphibians of historical note in the collection of the zoological survey of India. J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 115 (1): 1-7 - get paper here
  • Belford, Thomas J. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Farancia abacura reinwardtii (western mudsnake). Herpetological Review 46 (3): 385 - get paper here
  • Birkhead, Roger D. 2010. Geographic distribution: Farancia abacura abacura. Herpetological Review 41 (3): 380 - get paper here
  • Birkhead, Roger D. 2010. Geographic distribution: Farancia abacura abacura. Herpetological Review 41 (3): 380 - get paper here
  • Blyth, EDWARD. 1855. Notices and descriptions of various reptiles, new or little known [part 2]. J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Calcutta, 23 (3): 287-302 [1854] - get paper here
  • Buck, D.H. 1946. Food of Farancia abacura in Texas Herpetologica 3 (4): 111. - get paper here
  • Burger, W. Leslie 1948. Farancia abacura reinwardtii in Oklahoma. Copeia 1948 (2): 133 - get paper here
  • Burt, Charles E. 1935. Further records of the ecology and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the middle west. American Midland Naturalist 16 (3): 311-336 - get paper here
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  • CARDENAS, HANNAH; KEVIN M. ENGE, DAVID A. STEEN, PAUL E. MOLER, JONATHAN D. MAYS, AUBREY HEUPEL GREENE & E. PIERSON HILL. 2022. FARANCIA ABACURA (Red-bellied Mudsnake). PREDATION. Herpetological Review 53 (2): 341.
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  • Dabney, T.G. 1919. Character and Feeding Habits of Farancia abacura, the Socalled "Stinging Snake" Copeia 73: 73-75. - get paper here
  • DAWSON, JEFFREY E. 2022. FARANCIA ABACURA (Red-bellied Mudsnake). REPRODUCTION. Herpetological Review 53 (1): 149.
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  • Dundee, H.A. 1992. New Data on Hatchling Mud Snakes, Farancia abacura reinwardtii Schlegel Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 28(3): 78-82. - get paper here
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  • Flaherty, James P., Michael C. Fulbright, Aaron Ross, Shawn Settle and C. M. Gienger. 2013. Geographic Distribution: Farancia abacura (red-bellied mudsnake). Herpetological Review 44 (4): 628 - get paper here
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  • Garman, Samuel 1884. The reptiles and batrachians of North America. Mem. Mus. comp. Zool, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 8 (3): xxxiv + 185 pp. [1883] [CNAH reprint 10] - get paper here
  • Graham, S. P. 2012. Geographic distribution: Farancia abacura (red-bellied mudsnake). Herpetological Review 43: 307 - get paper here
  • Graham, Sean P. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Farancia abacura (red-bellied mudsnake). Herpetological Review 46 (4): 573 - get paper here
  • Guibé, J. & Roux-Estève, R. 1972. Les types de Schlegel (Ophidiens) présents dans les collections du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Zoologische Mededelingen 47: 129-134 - get paper here
  • Guyer, Craig; Mark A. Bailey, and Robert H. Mount 2018. Lizards and snakes of Alabama. University of Alabama Press, 397 pp. - get paper here
  • Haertle, Nicholas E., Paul M. Hampton, Phillip N. Vogrinc and John D. Willson. 2015. Farancia abacura (red-bellied mudsnake) feeding behavior. Herpetological Review 46 (3): 449-450 - get paper here
  • Hahn, D. E.; Wilson, L. D. 1966. Variation in two broods of Farancia abacura reinwardti Schlegel (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Louisiana. Journal of the Ohio Herpetological Society 5 (4): 159-160 - get paper here
  • Hall, P.M. & A.J. Meier 1993. Reproduction and behavior of western mud snakes (Farancia abacura reinwardtii) in American alligator nests. Copeia 1993 (1): 219-222. - get paper here
  • Hampton, Paul and Taylor Kalmus 2014. The Allometry of Cranial Morphology and Gape Size in Red-Bellied Mudsnakes (Farancia abacura). Herpetologica 70 (3): 290-297. - get paper here
  • Holbrook, John E. 1836. North American Herpetology, Vol. 1 (1st ed.). J. Dobson, Philadelphia, 120 pp. - get paper here
  • Holbrook, John E. 1842. North American Herpetology; or, A description of the reptiles inhabiting the United States. Vol I (2nd ed.). J. Dobson, Philadelphia, 152 pp. - get paper here
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  • Smith, C. & S. Emery 1991. An Aberrantly marked Farancia abacura from South Carolina Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 27(4): 219-220. - get paper here
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  • Vance, Thomas 1994. Farancia abacura reinwardtii (western mud snake). USA: Louisiana. Herpetological Review 25 (2): 76 - get paper here
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