Aquatic. Large-bodied. Black and shiny. Belly with red bands that extend onto sides. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 175 records from 21 sources: 117 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 42 observation (
), with 16 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 43 of 75 counties (), with 5 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1898 to present.
This highly aquatic snake occurs throughout the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and South Central Plains, ascending the Arkansas valley and other stream basins draining the Interior Highlands. The record from south of Lake Ouachita, Garland County (WTSU 8897 from 1983), may represent a population that was isolated with the construction of the string of reservoirs along the Ouachita River.
