Ringneck Snake

Ring-necked snakes are fairly common throughout much of the United States extending into southeastern Canada and central Mexico. Mexican populations diverged first in the phylogenetic lineage of the subspecies of ringneck species. Eastern populations cover the entire Eastern Seaboard from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence continuous through the Gulf Coast of Texas. Distribution moves inland into northern Minnesota, continuing diagonally through the US to include all of Iowa, eastern Nebraska, and most of Kansas. In the western US, the distribution is significantly less continuous, with spotty, distinct population segments through most of the Pacific Northwest. Populations extend from south-central Washington continuing along the extreme West Coast into Mexico. Population segments extend inland into western Idaho, through southern Nevada, into central Utah, and continuing south through Arizona and central Mexico.

Ring-necked snakes usually mate in the spring. In some subspecies, though, mating occurs in the fall, and delayed implantation occurs. Three to ten eggs are deposited in June or July and hatch in August or September. The egg is elongated with a white color contrasted by yellow ends. When hatched, juveniles are precocial and fend for themselves without parental care.

One of the biggest threats the Key ring-necked snakes (Diadophis punctatus acricus) face is climate change. Native to the Florida Keys, the chain of low-level islands that make up the archipelago make the species highly vulnerable as rising sea levels impact their island habitat. They face storm surges and flooding events, which only expect to become more frequent as climate change worsens. Because of their small size and dependence on feeding off leaf litter prey, such as small invertebrates, these changes in climate directly impact food availability.

The following 14 subspecies are recognized. * D. p. acricus Paulson, 1966 — Key ring-necked snake * D. p. amabilis (Baird & Girard, 1853) — Pacific ring-necked snake * D. p. anthonyi (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1942) — Todos Santos Island ring-necked snake * D. p. arnyi (Kennicott, 1859) — prairie ring-necked snake *D. p. dugesii () — Dugès' ring-necked snake *D. p. edwardsii — northern ring-necked snake * D. p. modestus (Bocourt, 1866) — San Bernardino ring-necked snake * D. p. occidentalis (Blanchard, 1923) — northwestern ring-necked snake * D. p. pulchellus (Baird & Girard, 1853) — coralbelly ring-necked snake * D. p. punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766) — southern ring-necked snake * D. p. regalis (Baird & Girard, 1853) — regal ring-necked snake * D. p. similis (Blanchard, 1923) — San Diego ring-necked snake * D. p. stictogenys (Cope, 1860) — Mississippi ring-necked snake * D. p. vandenburgii (Blanchard, 1923) — Monterey ring-necked snake