Cemophora coccinea coccinea
Cemophora coccinea coccinea, also known commonly as the Florida scarlet snake, is the nominotypical subspecies of the scarlet snake. C. c. coccinea is a nonvenomous snake in the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. The subspecies is endemic to the state of Florida in the southeastern United States.
Geographic range
C. c. coccinea is found exclusively in peninsular Florida, from as far north as Marion County to the southern tip of the state.Description
The Florida scarlet snake usually grows to in total length, but the maximum recorded total length is. It is typically gray or white, with red blotches bordered by black along its back. The black borders on the blotches often join on the lower sides of the snake forming a line down the length of the body. Its belly is a uniform white. Its scales are smooth.Scarlet snakes can sometimes be mistaken for the scarlet kingsnake, or the Eastern milk snake in the areas where their ranges overlap. The Florida scarlet snake can easily be distinguished from the scarlet kingsnake by its white bands, and from the Eastern milk snake by its red head and slightly upturned nose.
Distinguishing the Florida scarlet snake from the closely allied northern scarlet snake is more difficult, although generally the subspecies can be identified based on location; the ranges of the two subspecies overlap only minimally. The main point of distinction is the number of upper labial scales present in each subspecies: the Florida scarlet snake has 7 upper labial scales, while the northern scarlet snake has 6.