Northern water snake The belly also varies in color. It can be white, yellow, or gray. Usually it also has reddish or black crescents. The northern water snake is nonvenomous and harmless to humans, but superficially resembles the venomous cottonmouth and is often killed unnecessarily as a result of this mistaken identity. The two can be easily distinguished by morphological traits: the water snake has a longer, more slender body and a flattened head the same width as the neck, round pupils, and no heat-sensing pits. The cottonmouth has a fatter body, a wedge-shaped head with prominent venom glands that are wider than
Chinese water snake Chinese water snake The Chinese water snake, Chinese smooth water snake, Chinese mud snake or Chinese rice paddy snake ("Enhydris chinensis" or "Myrrophis chinensis") is a species of mildly venomous, rear-fanged snake, endemic to Asia. "M. chinensis" is found in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As the common name suggests, the Chinese water snake is a highly aquatic species, adapting well to human-altered environments such as fish pools and rice paddies. "M. chinensis" is considered common, although it has declined in Taiwan and is protected there. "Myrrophis chinensis" is a relatively small snake reaching total length (including tail) of up to