Prairie Ring-Necked Snake, 072808, Sweetwater, TX--page 3

For more detailed information on this snake, the reader is advised to consult Werler & Dixon's book, Texas Snakes, pp. 90-98 (hardcopy ed., pub. 2000), wherein the authors note that prairie subspecies (Diadophis punctatus arnyi) has a bright yellow belly that grades to pale orange and finally to a scarlet red undertail, with small dark spots spaced on the belly at random. The regal ring-necked snake (D. punctatus regalis) lacks the nuchal ring, but has a belly coloration and spot pattern similar to that of its prairie relative. The Mississippi subspecies (D. punctatus stictogenys) has a nuchal collar, but its belly is bright yellow from neck to tip of tail, and the dark belly spots are in irregular pairs down the belly. When threatened, the prairie ring-necked snake spirals its tail and lifts it upward to show a scarlet underside. This, some authorities believe, has the effect of startling a predator, or at least diverts attention from the head, which It hides under a portion of its body during the tail display. NEXT PAGE

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