Animal
Ring-necked snake
Diadophis punctatus
Also known as: ringneck snake
A small (10–15 inches) secretive snake — slate-grey to black above with a distinctive yellow-orange ring around the neck and a bright yellow-orange belly. Found on Staten Island in moist forest sites, the Greenbelt, and under cover objects (rocks, logs, leaf litter). Eats small invertebrates and salamanders. Defensive display: when threatened, individuals coil and expose the bright belly as a warning signal.
Scientific
Diadophis punctatus is a 10–15 inch slender non-venomous colubrid. Slate-grey to black dorsal coloration; bright yellow, orange, or red ventral coloration; distinctive light ring around the neck. Diet: small invertebrates (slugs, worms, insects), salamanders, occasionally other small snakes.
Highly secretive — spends most of its time under cover (rocks, logs, leaf litter) and is rarely seen by casual observers. Often forms small communal aggregations under suitable cover objects.
Defensive behavior includes coiling tightly and exposing the bright ventral coloration as a warning display. Mild venom from rear fangs is used to subdue prey but is harmless to humans.
On Staten Island
Found in the Greenbelt’s moist forest sites and other shaded forested habitats on the borough. Secretive and not commonly observed — typically encountered when residents lift cover objects (rocks, logs, debris) in suitable habitat. Less abundant than [[dekays-brownsnake|DeKay’s brownsnake]] or [[eastern-garter-snake|eastern garter snake]] on the borough.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State DEC reptile species records
- USGS Northeastern reptile-survey records
Rooted in life.
What links here, and how
Inbound connections from across the wiki, grouped by lens and by relationship. These appear automatically — every entity page declares what it links to, and that data populates here on the targets.
Nothing yet. This entry is currently one node away from the rest of the graph — links will appear here automatically as the wiki grows. Each new entity that mentions this one in its relations frontmatter shows up here.
0 inbound links · 2 outbound