Aquatic. Plain grayish brown, sometimes with faint crossbars. Belly uniform yellow. Juveniles blotched with dark spots on neck alternating with dorsal blotches. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 866 records from 36 sources: 690 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 135 observation (
), with 41 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 71 of 75 counties (), with 1 additional county having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1884 to present.
This species occurs statewide, although records from the Ozark Highlands in northcentral Arkansas (e.g., vicinity Bull Shoals and Northfork lakes) are relatively sparse.
