The Concho water snake is a protected species.Although the two occur in different and non-contiguous drainages, the Concho water snake, (formerly Nerodia harteri paucimaculata, now Nerodia paucimaculata) is of very similar appearance to the Brazos water snake. N. harteri. As he had with the latter, Kenny had researched the locales and the probabilities of our finding and photographing the Concho water snake.

Like the Brazos water snake, the Concho has been considered federally threatened since the late 1900s and is primarily a snake of natural and man-made rocky riffles. It has adapted to a few areas of rock-edged quieter waters in reservoirs.

Rather small for an American water snake, the Concho is adult at 24 to 30 inches in length. The sandy dorsal ground color and 4 rows of poorly defined dusky darker blotches blends well with the substrate color on which this snake is found. The belly, usually immaculate but sometimes with a row of indistinct dark spots along each side, is of pink or orangish color.

We searched, we found, we departed. Other herp taxa of Texas still beckoned.