Description: This species has a distinctive red stripe down the center of the back, to which both the common name and the subspecific name refer.

Habitat: It is semiaquatic, spending most of its time on the edge of permanent bodies of water such as swamps, ponds, lakes, or slow-moving streams. It is fast-moving and an excellent swimmer.

Range: It is found in West Texas on the Edwards Plateau.

Found in these States: TX

Diet: Its primary diet is amphibians, such as the northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans), but it will also consume lizards and small rodents.

Reproduction: Viviparous (gives birth to live young). They mate in April and May after emerging from hibernation. The young are born from late June to mid-August. A litter can be formed of 8-25 young, but the average litter size is around 15. The slender, delicate juveniles are 8-9 inches in size. They resemble adults in color and pattern and can take care of themselves from the moment they are born.

Status: Listed as Least Concern because it has a wide distribution, large population, and is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: