(Diadophis punctatus)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Description |
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As the common name implies, ring-necked snake is identified by a conspicuous yellowish-orange or orange ring around its neck. Northern ring-necked snake has a yellowish-orange ring around its neck that completely encircles the neck. The belly matches the ring in color and has little or no dark spotting. The underside of the tail is yellow. Prairie ring-necked snake has an orange ring around its neck that does not extend to the underside. The belly is yellow for one-third of its length, grading into orange for another third, finally grading into red. The underside of the tail is red. The belly also has numerous scattered black spots. |
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Size |
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10″ to 15″ |
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Similar Species |
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Habitat |
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Northern ring-necked snake: damp deciduous forests Prairie ring-necked snake: forest edges and openings, southwest-facing hillsides and rocky bluffs |
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Biology |
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Behavior |
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When alarmed it will curl its tail into a tight coil. |
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Lifespan |
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4 to 8 years |
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Life Cycle |
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Food |
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Earthworms, salamanders, frogs, small lizards, small snakes, slugs, and soft-bodied insects |
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Distribution |
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Sources 4, 14, 24, 29, 30, 74, 76, 78. Northern ring-necked snake is found along the St. Croix River in northeastern Minnesota. Prairie ring-necked snake is found along the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota. The two ranges do not overlap. |
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1/21/2023 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Scattered but locally common |
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Taxonomy |
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Class | Reptilia (reptiles) | ||
Superorder | Lepidosauria | ||
Order | Squamata (snakes and lizards) | ||
Suborder | Serpentes (snakes) | ||
Infraorder | Alethinophidia | ||
Superfamily | Colubroidea | ||
Family |
Colubridae (colubrid snakes) | ||
Subfamily |
Dipsadidae | ||
Genus |
Diadophis | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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coralbelly ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus pulchellus) Dugès’ ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus dugesii) Key ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus acricus) Mississippi ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus stictogenys) Monterey ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus vandenburgii) northern ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) northwestern ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus occidentalis) Pacific ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus amabilis) prairie ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus arnyi) regal ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus regalis) San Bernardino ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus modestus) San Diego ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) southern ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus punctatus) Todos Santos Island ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus anthonyi) |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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cork-screw snake ring-necked snake ringneck snake |
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Visitor Photos |
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Lane Keller |
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One of the more unexpected finds of Gooseberry Falls was back in June 2020. I was starting to head back to the parking lot after it got dark. Then out from the bushes comes this little black & orange serpent rushing past my feet. |
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Jeff LeClere |
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Prairie ring-necked snake |
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Northern ring-necked snake |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this reptile. |
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This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
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Other Videos |
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Prairie Ringneck Snake showing defensive display. Jim H. |
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About
Published on Apr 24, 2014 Prairie Ring-necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus arnyi I've caught dozens of these, when I was a boy. They are pretty secretive and shy snakes, so I never really noticed how they try to show you their red tail......like that would scare anybody off. But in nature, red many times means danger. This video shows a little ringneck trying to scare me off. He goes a little nuts for one of these guys. And the strange thing is that these little guys are actually slightly venomous, although they are considered to be harmless by most people. |
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Northern Northern Ring-necked Snake Scientific Name: Diadophis punctatus edwardsii release VonFej61 |
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About
Published on Nov 1, 2014 |
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Northern Ring-necked Snake Rescue VonFej61 |
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About
Published on Sep 29, 2014 Baby Northern Ring-necked Snake found in my garage all tangled in webs and debris.. |
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Handling Northern Ringneck Snake naturefortwo |
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About
Uploaded on Jun 4, 2011 Here's another short episode of backyard critters filmed at Danny's brother's house in Randolph, NJ. This is a northern ringneck snake, which is a very mildly venomous species that can be found in New Jersey. As noted in the video, the venom itself isn't potent enough to be harmful to humans, but you can never be certain whether you'll have an allergic to the venom before being bitten. Thus, it's always best to NOT try to handle these snakes. |
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Northern Ringneck Snake TheSnakeLibrary |
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About
Uploaded on Jul 24, 2011 Northern Ringneck Snake Description: 10-27 11/16" (25.4-70.6 cm). A small slender snake, with a golden-yellow neck ring. Back gray, olive, or brownish, sometimes approaching black. Belly yellow and typically unspotted. Neck ring may be interrupted, obscure, or occasionally absent. Loreal scale present. Scales smooth, in 15-17 rows. Anal plate divided. Habitat: Forest, rocky wooded hillsides. Range: Nova Scotia, south in the Appalachians to n. Georgia and ne. Alabama, west to se. Illinois and the Great Lakes region through Wisconsin. Discussion: Unlike some of the other Ringneck subspecies, the Northern doesn't have red under the tail. Only the red-tailed forms perform the Ringneck "corkscrew coil" defense. |
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Visitor Sightings |
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This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
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Lane Keller 6/26/2020 |
Location: Gooseberry Falls State Park One of the more unexpected finds of Gooseberry Falls was back in June 2020. I was starting to head back to the parking lot after it got dark. Then out from the bushes comes this little black & orange serpent rushing past my feet. |
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Lor 8/23/2019 |
Location: Blackwater Lake, near Longville, MN only about 4-1/2” long. Seen crossing a gravel road. |
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Jeff LeClere 5/18/2019 |
Location: Olmsted County Prairie ring-necked snake |
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Jeff LeClere 9/17/2017 |
Location: Pine County Northern ring-necked snake |
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Al Peterson 7/15/2017 |
Location: Bean and Bear Lake on Superior Hiking Trail |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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