The Florida Rainbow Snake Has A Mysterious Past

There's a snake that's causing a lot of buzz in the state of Florida. You might assume we're talking about the Burmese python, which has routinely made headlines as one of the worst invasive species in Florida, but while that species is grabbing most of the spotlight, a unique native inhabitant has caught the eye of conservationists.

Rainbow snakes (Farancia erytrogramma) are one of the United States' most fascinating endemic reptiles. They gained their name from their distinct coloring, though it's not what you'd expect from the rainbow label. At first glance, they appear primarily black, but in the sunlight, they shimmer like iridescent opal. The trio of red stripes on their backs and their striking yellow underbellies make them all the more beautiful, yet despite this eye-catching appearance, rainbow snakes are hardly ever seen. Intensely secretive and solitary, they spend most of their lives hiding in freshwater bodies. There, they hunt by night for their favorite prey — eels — while evading the eye of vicious predators and benevolent observers alike.

To see any rainbow snake in the wild is rare, but one subspecies is so obscure that it's become almost mythical. While the common rainbow snake exists throughout much of the southeastern U.S., the southern Florida rainbow snake hasn't been seen by anyone in decades. Its existence is so shrouded in mystery, that scientists aren't even sure if it's gone extinct. Now, the state is calling for evidence of this serpentine marvel, but will the quest be in vain?

To call the southern Florida rainbow snake rare is an understatement. Only three confirmed specimens have ever been found, making it one of the most obscure and mysterious reptiles in the entire world. All three specimens were found in Fisheating Creek in Glades County, and all were found in a three year span from 1949 to 1952. Since 1952, there hasn't been a single confirmed sighting of a southern Florida rainbow snake, and its conservation status has become a point of controversy.

If the southern Florida rainbow snake is a species on the brink of extinction, there could still be a chance to save its population, but many suspect that this subspecies is already gone for good. The environmentalist nonprofit NatureServe currently lists it as a Possibly Extinct Subspecies, but there have been several unconfirmed sightings in recent years that have conservationists hoping that it's not too late.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has opened a rare snake sightings page on their website, calling for any and all evidence of the rainbow snakes. Aside from its characteristic colors, their size makes them notable, typically reaching three to four feet long. Don't let that intimidate you, though, as these are nonvenomous snakes that pose no threat to humans. The real question is what might be threatening these snakes, and whether the subspecies has already succumbed to it.