Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Pacific Ringneck Snake, Ring-Necked Snake, Ringneck Snake
Description
Family Colubridae
The family Colubridae, which includes the kingsnakes (Lampropeltis spp. ), is the largest, most widespread, and diverse family of snakes , with few physical characteristics universal among all species. The family contains 70 percent of the known species of snakes, with more than 1700 species worldwide (Pough et al. 1998). Although some colubrids are dangerously venomous , most are harmless to humans. [2]
Subfamily Dipsadinae
These snakes are the New World counterparts of the Pareinae and resemble them in appearance and habits. They live in tropical America.
Physical Description
Species Diadophis punctatus amabilis
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.[1]
Size/Age/Growth
8 - 34 inches long (20 - 87cm.)[1]
Habitat
Prefers moist habitats , including wet meadows, rocky hillsides, gardens, farmland, grassland, chaparral , mixed coniferous forests , woodlands.[1]
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,147 meters (0 to 7,044 feet).[3]
Biology
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 .[1]
Reproduction
Lays eggs in the summer, sometimes in a communal nest .[1]
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.[1]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
()
- Goodrich, 1930
- Class:
Reptilia
()
- Reptiles
- Subclass:
Diapsida
()
- Infraclass:
Lepidosauromorpha
()
- Superorder:
Lepidosauria
()
-
- Order:
Squamata
()
- Suborder:
Serpentes
()
- (C. Linnaeus, 1758)
- Superfamily:
Colubroidea
()
- Family:
Colubridae
()
- Colubrids
- Subfamily:
Dipsadinae
()
- Genus:
Diadophis
()
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Specific name:
punctatus
- Subspecies:
amabilis
- Scientific name: - Diadophis punctatus amabilis
- Subspecies:
amabilis
- Specific name:
punctatus
- Genus:
Diadophis
(
- Subfamily:
Dipsadinae
(
- Family:
Colubridae
(
- Superfamily:
Colubroidea
(
- Suborder:
Serpentes
(
- Order:
Squamata
(
- Superorder:
Lepidosauria
(
- Infraclass:
Lepidosauromorpha
(
- Subclass:
Diapsida
(
- Class:
Reptilia
(
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
. Latest taxonomic
scrutiny: October 21, 1999.
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.[1]
Similar Species
Related or Similar California Snakes: D. p. modestus - San Bernardino Ring-necked Snake D. p. occidentalis - Northwestern Ring-necked Snake D. p. pulchellus - Coral-bellied Ring-necked Snake D. p. regalis - Regal Ring-necked Snake D. p. similis - San Diego Ring-necked Snake D. p. vandenburgii - Monterey Ring-necked Snake C. tenuis - Sharp-tailed Snake T. hobartsmithi - Smith's Black-headed Snake T. planiceps - Western Black-headed Snake
Members of the genus Diadophis
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 31 species and subspecies in this genus:
D. amabilis · D. amabilis occidentalis · D. amabilis similis · D. anuyi · D. arnyi · D. baliodeirus · D. bipunctatus · D. elinorae · D. lecontei · D. pulchellus · D. punctatus (San Bernardino Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus acricus (Key Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus amabilis (Pacific Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus anthonyi · D. punctatus arnyi (Prairie Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus dugesii · D. punctatus edwardsi · D. punctatus edwardsii (Northern Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus modestus (San Bernardino Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus occidentalis (Northwestern Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus pulchellus (Coralbelly Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus punctatus (Southern Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus regalis (Regal Ringsnake Snake) · D. punctatus similis (San Diego Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus stictogenys (Mississippi Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus vandenburghi (Monterey Ringneck Snake) · D. punctatus vandenburghii · D. punctatus vandenburgii · D. regalis · D. regalis arizonae · D. regalis blanchardi
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
- Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
- Bartlett, R.D. , and Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
- Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
- Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
- Collins, J. T. 1997. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians and Reptiles, Fourth Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. ii-40. ISBN: 0-916984-44-3.
- Conant, R. and J. T. Collins 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, Eastern and Central North America, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Massachusetts. 450.
- Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, and Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
- Flores-Villela, Oscar / McCoy, C. J., ed. 1993. Herpetofauna Mexicana: Lista anotada de las especies de anfibios y reptiles de México, cambios taxonómicos recientes, y nuevas especies. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication, no. 17. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. iv + 73. ISBN: 0-911239-42-1.
- Fontanella , Frank M., Chris R. Feldman, Mark E. Siddall, and Frank T. Burbrink. Phylogeography of Diadophis punctatus: Extensive lineage diversity and repeated patterns of historical demography in a trans-continental snake. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46 (2008) 1049 1070. 2008.
- Stebbins, Robert C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Mass. 336.
- Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
- T'Shaka Touré: The actual date of publication is 1968.
- Wright, Albert Hazen and Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 4, 2006.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 14, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
- Nafis, Gary. California Reptiles and Amphibians. Accessed June 23, 2009.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2547981
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Rep-9666
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13515689
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 209169
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ARADB10012
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 177795
Footnotes
- Nafis, Gary. California Reptiles and Amphibians [back]
- Painter, Charles W., Chuck L. Hayes, and James N. Stuart "Recovery and Conservation of the Gray-Banded Kingsnake. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. May 1, 2002. [back]
- Mean = 126.750 meters (415.846 feet), Standard Deviation = 356.940 based on 44 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Curator for this page: Juan Pablo Hurtado. Date last reviewed: 1899-12-30
