Northern ringneck snake
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii, commonly known as the northern ringneck snake, is a subspecies of Diadophis punctatus, a snake in the family Colubridae. The subspecies is endemic to North America.
The subspecific name, edwardsii, is in honor of English ornithologist George Edwards, who described it, without giving it a binomial name, from a specimen he had received from William Bartram.
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe northern ringneck snake has a body color from bluish grey to black, with a complete narrow yellow or orange ring around its neck and an underside matching the ring and generally lacking any dark spotting or patterning. The complete ring and lack of large dark spots on the belly differentiate it from other subspecies of D. punctatus. In some regions, there are areas of intergradation with other subspecies. Generally from 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimetres) in total length (including tail) as an adult, it can reach more than two feet (61 cm) in length.
In Canada D. p. edwardsii is found in the southern parts of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, and also in Nova Scotia. In the United States it is found throughout New England, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Great Lakes region, and also at higher elevations in the South. More specifically, it is found in the following: NE Alabama, Connecticut, NW Georgia, SE Illinois, S Indiana, Kentucky, W Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, NE Minnesota, N New Jersey, New York, W North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, extreme NW South Carolina, E Tennessee, W (western) Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Florida.
The favored habitat of the northern ringneck snake over most of its range is a moist wooded area, but it will also use the edges of wetlands or open areas in mountainous or hilly terrain. It is also often found in moist humid basements.
In the winter D. p. edwardsii hibernates in locations from stone walls or cellars to small mammal burrows to brush piles or rotting logs.
sity. Another subspecies in Kansas was found to have densities of 700 to 1,800 per 1 hectare (0.0039 sq mi; 0.010 km2). It is also social, and multiple ringnecks may be found in the same hiding spot during any season.
In the winter D. p. edwardsii hibernates in locations from stone walls or cellars to small mammal burrows to brush piles or rotting logs.
D. p. edwardsii preys upon insects, salamanders, earthworms, slugs, small lizards, small snakes, and frogs. The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus ) is a favorite food.
A female D. p. edwardsii will lay her clutch of 2 to 10 eggs under a rock or in moist and rotting wood. Other female snakes may also use the same laying site, leading to single site egg finds of up to the mid fifties. The eggs hatch after about two months, and the young look essentially the same as the adults, possibly with a brighter color shade on the ring and belly. The eggs are 21–34 mm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) long by 7–8 mm (1⁄4–1⁄4 in) wide, and the hatchlings are 100–125 mm (3.9–4.9 in) in total length. Egg laying is normally in early summer and hatching in late summer.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...