Classification
Common Name: Northern Water Snake
Domain: Eukarya = Membrane bound organelles with a true nucles.
Kingdom: Animalia = Heterotrophic, multicellularity and the lack of cell walls.
Phylum: Chordata = Notochord, postanal tail, pharyngeal gill slits, endostyle and a dorsal hollow nerve cord are all present at some point during the life cycle.
Class: Reptilia = Dry skin with scales. Amniotic fluid and yolk sac are present.
Order: Squamata = Jaws with teeth, growth by molting and scales made up of keratin.
Suborder: Serpentes = No limbs, also have paired respiratory and urinogenital organs.
Family: Colubridae = Largest family of snakes, containing nearly 70% of all snake species.
Genus: Nerodia = American watersnakes.
Species: sipedon = Northern watersnake.
The above phylogenetit tree shows the basic classification of Nerodia sipeda from domain all the way to species name.
The phylogenetic tree shown below lists the classification from family through species.
