Species: Diadophis punctatus
Ring-necked Snake
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Colubridae
Genus
Diadophis
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Ringneck Snake - couleuvre à collier
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Reptiles - Snakes
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Reptilia - Squamata - Colubridae - Diadophis - >
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - true - false - Distance between hibernaculum and summer range estimated to average 121 m in Kansas study (Fitch 1975).
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Eats earthworms; slugs; small salamanders, frogs, lizards, and snakes; and various other small invertebrates.
Reproduction Comments
Lays clutch of 1-18 eggs, usually in June or July. Eggs hatch in up to about 8 weeks. Sexually mature in 2-3 years. May possibly lay two clutches in south. Eggs are laid from late May through August in Florida. Communal nesting common.
Ecology Comments
Population density was estimated to be 719-1849/ha in Kansas study. Distances between recaptures averaged 80 m (range 0-1700 m) in same study; home range had maximum dimension of about 140 m (Fitch 1975).
Length
76
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2005-09-06
Global Status Last Changed
1996-10-29
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - The range extends from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of North America (Conant and Collins 1991, Stebbins 2003). The northern limit of the more or less continuous portion of the range reaches Nova Scotia, southern Quebec, southern Ontario, Minnesota, southeastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, southeastern Colorado, and Arizona. The southern limit extends to San Luis Potosi (Mexico), the Gulf Coast of the United States, and southern Florida. The species also occurs disjunctly in western North America in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, and it ranges from southern Washington through western Oregon and throughout much of California (except the Central Valley and deserts) into northwestern Baja California, including Islas Todos Santos and San Martin along the Pacific Coast (Grismer 2002). This species has been introduced on Grand Cayman Island (probably via ornamental plants from southern Florida), but it is unknown whether or not the species is established there (Schwartz and Henderson 1991).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)