The chin and throat are yellow. The tail tip ends in a pointed, horny scale. The scales are mostly smooth , except on the lower back and sides where they are weekly keeled. There are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round.
Juveniles are similar in appearance to adults.
In Florida, it occurs throughout the panhandle and northern peninsula, south along the St. John's River to northern central Florida. Apparently disjunct populations have been reported from the Tampa Bay region. Outside of Florida, it ranges along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from eastern Louisiana to southern Maryland. Uncommon to rare, it mainly inhabits clear waters of springs and rivers. It is also sometimes observed near creeks, lakes, cypress swamps, marshes, and tidal mudflats.