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.

Rena humilis humilis - Southwestern Threadsnake | Snake Species Diadophis punctatus amabilis - Pacific Ring-necked Snake | Snake Species Lampropeltis zonata zonata - St. Helena Mountain Kingsnake | Snake Species
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii - Northern Ring-necked Snake | Snake Species Nerodia erythrogaster  - Plain-bellied Watersnake | Snake Species CHIHUAHUAN HOOK-NOSED SNAKE  <br />   Gyalopion canum | Snake Species
Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster  - Osage Copperhead | Snake Species THORNSCRUB HOOK-NOSED SNAKE  <br />   Gyalopion quadrangulare | Snake Species Lampropeltis alterna - Gray-banded Kingsnake | Snake Species
Croatalus molossus - Black-tailed Rattlesnake | Snake Species Carphophis amoenus amoenus - Eastern Wormsnake | Snake Species Coluber flagellum piceus - Red Racer | Snake Species
 SPOTTED LEAF-NOSED SNAKE  <br />   Phyllorhynchus decurtatus | Snake Species Coluber constrictor paludicola - Everglades Racer | Snake Species Crotalus oreganus lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake | Snake Species
Thamnophis elegans terrestris - Coast Gartersnake | Snake Species Crotalus oreganus oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake | Snake Species Diadophis punctatus vandenburgii - Monterey Ring-necked Snake | Snake Species
Salvadora grahamiae grahamiae - Mountain Patch-nosed Snake | Snake Species Crotalus angelensis - Isla Angel de la Guarda Rattlesnake | Snake Species Coluber constrictor priapus - Southern Black Racer | Snake Species

Copyright © 2012