Snake Species Dinosaur species

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake

Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake - snake species | gveli | გველი

Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake

Mildly Venomous

Not considered dangerous to humans. Enlarged non-grooved teeth in the rear of the upper jaw and mild venom which may help to incapacitate small prey.

Size

8 - 34 inches long (20 - 87cm.)

Appearance

A small, thin snake with smooth scales. Gray, blue-gray, blackish, or dark olive dorsal coloring, with a yellow to orange underside, speckled with numerous black markings. The underside of the tail is a bright reddish orange. A narrow orange band around the neck, 1 - 1.5 scale rows wide.

Behavior

Secretive - usually found under the cover of rocks, wood, bark, boards and other surface debris, but occasionally seen moving on the surface on cloudy days, at dusk, or at night.

When disturbed, coils its tail like a corkscrew, exposing the underside which is usually bright red. It may also smear musk and cloacal contents.

Diet

Eats slender salamanders and other small salamanders, tadpoles, small frogs, small snakes, lizards, worms, slugs, and insects. The mild venom may help to incapacitate prey.

Reproduction

Lays eggs in the summer, sometimes in a communal nest.

Range

This subspecies, Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake, is endemic to California, occuring from just north of the San Francisco Bay around Sonoma County, south to the Monterey Bay region.

The species Diadophis punctatus - Ring-necked Snake, has a very wide range, occuring along the entire east coast of the United States west to the Great Lakes and southwest from there through the Midwest into Arizona, with scattered isolated populations throughout most of the western states including the western half of California, Oregon west of the Cascades, and south central Washington.

Habitat

Prefers moist habitats, including wet meadows, rocky hillsides, gardens, farmland, grassland, chaparral, mixed coniferous forests, woodlands.

Taxonomic Notes

Many herpetologists no longer recognize the traditional morphologically-based subspecies of Diadophis punctatus, pending a thorough molecular study of the whole species. One ongoing study (Feldman and Spicer, 2006, Mol. Ecol. 15:2201-2222) has found all of the D. punctatus subspecies in California (except D. p. regalis) to be indistinguishable. It is likely that D. punctatus is composed of several distinct lineages that do not follow the geographic ranges of the subspecies.

 CHIHUAHUAN BLACK-HEADED SNAKE <br />    Tantilla wilcoxi | Snake Species  PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKE <br />  Crotalus viridis | Snake Species Rhinocheilus lecontei  - Long-nosed Snake | Snake Species
Diadophis punctatus pulchellus - Coral-bellied Ring-necked Snake | Snake Species Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii - Desert Massasauga | Snake Species  COACHWHIP  Coluber flagellum | Snake Species
SONORAN LYRESNAKE <br /> Trimorphodon lambda | Snake Species Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis - Desert Patch-nosed Snake | Snake Species Salvadora hexalepis hexalepis - Desert Patch-nosed Snake | Snake Species
Bogertophis subocularis subocularis  - Trans-Pecos Ratsnake | Snake Species SONORAN SHOVEL-NOSED SNAKE  <br />   Chionactis palarostris | Snake Species  ARIZONA BLACK RATTLESNAKE  <br />   Crotalus cerberus | Snake Species
YAQUI BLACK-HEADED SNAKE<br />  Tantilla yaquia | Snake Species WESTERN RATTLESNAKE <br />  Crotalus oreganus | Snake Species Thamnophis hammondii - Two-striped Gartersnake | Snake Species
Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi - San Diego Nightsnake | Snake Species Coluber constrictor paludicola - Everglades Racer | Snake Species Thamnophis gigas - Giant Gartersnake | Snake Species
SMITH'S BLACK-HEADED SNAKE <br /> Tantilla hobartsmithi | Snake Species Thamnophis marcianus marcianus - Marcy's Checkered Gartersnake | Snake Species GREEN RATSNAKE  Senticolis triaspis | Snake Species

Copyright © 2012