# Ribbon snake (*Thamnophis saurita*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/ribbon-snake  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | up to 299.1 g |
| Length | up to 1.02 m |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 10.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 6 – 12.2 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years – 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.42 – 1.25 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

Recorded prey: Cuban tree frog (*Osteopilus septentrionalis*), Gray treefrog (*Dryophytes versicolor*), Eastern narrowmouth toad (*Gastrophryne carolinensis*), Fowler's toad (*Anaxyrus fowleri*), Spring peeper (*Pseudacris crucifer*). Recorded predators: Red-shouldered hawk (*Buteo lineatus*), Great blue heron (*Ardea herodias*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 1 country. Introduced: Belgium. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Colubridae
- genus: Thamnophis
- species: *Thamnophis saurita* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Amphiesma nicobarensis*, *Amphiesma nicobariense*, *Amphiesma nicobariense*, *Coluber saurita*, *Eutaenia sackenii*, *Hebius nicobarense*, *Hebius nicobariense*, *Natrix nicobarensis*, *Natrix nicobariensis*, *Paranatrix nicobariensis*, *Prymnomiodon chalceus*, *Thamnophis sauritus nitae*, *Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis*, *Tropidonotus nicobarensis*, *Tropidonotus nicobarensis*, *Tropidonotus nicobaricus*, *Tropidonotus nicobariensis*, *Xenochrophis nicobarensis*

## Common questions

### Is the ribbon snake an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the ribbon snake as introduced in 1 country: Belgium, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

### What kind of animal is the ribbon snake?

The ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

### What eats the ribbon snake?

Animals recorded preying on the ribbon snake include red-shouldered hawk and great blue heron. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

### Which animals does the ribbon snake eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the ribbon snake include cuban tree frog, gray treefrog, eastern narrowmouth toad and fowler's toad. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ribbon-snake