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Found near a river in Central KS..There were several large ones as well...Thanks.

That looks more like a Plain-bellied Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster) than it does a Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon. But right in that central area, intergrades are also fairly abundant. If it has a more plain belly, it is N. erythrogaster, and if it has more of a belly that consists of crescent(half-moon) shapes, it is N.sipedon. The two are very closely but sipedon is found from central on further north, whereas erythrogaster is basically from the central area in Kansas on south.

Here is a very contrasting patterned young subadult erythrogaster, they typically become more dull, and less vivid than the young display. They can be quite uni-colored olive/gray as older adults.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

N. sipedon is found throughout virtually the entire eastern two-thirds of Kansas and on south into Oklahoma. N. erythrogaster is found from central Kansas on to the south and east. While the background color is lighter than in the majority of young sipedon I've seen in Kansas, the neck pattern would definitely indicate that it is a Northern Water Snake, N. sipedon. Doug is correct in that intergrades do occur occasionally, and there is a slight possibility of that in this case, this specimen is not a pure erythrogaster.

Kelly