# Ring-necked snake (*Diadophis punctatus*)

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

The ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 161 g.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 161 g |
| Length | up to 87 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 42 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.9 – 5 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 2.5 years |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

Recorded prey: Red-backed salamander (*Plethodon cinereus*), Northern slimy salamander (*Plethodon glutinosus*), Sharptail snake (*Contia tenuis*), Black legless lizard (*Anniella pulchra*), Ground skink (*Scincella lateralis*), Puget sound garter snake (*Thamnophis ordinoides*), Northern two-lined salamander (*Eurycea bislineata*), Worm snake (*Indotyphlops braminus*), Southern alligator lizard (*Elgaria multicarinata*), Chihuahuan Nightsnake (*Hypsiglena jani*), Blackneck garter snake (*Thamnophis cyrtopsis*). Recorded predators: Racer (*Coluber constrictor*), Milk snake (*Lampropeltis triangulum*), Eastern chipmunk (*Tamias striatus*), Virginia opossum (*Didelphis virginiana*), Striped skunk (*Mephitis mephitis*), Eastern copperhead (*Agkistrodon contortrix*), Eastern coral snake (*Micrurus fulvius*). 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: Cayman Islands. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

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

Synonyms: *Coluber punctatus*, *Coluber torquatus*, *Diadophis amabilis*, *Diadophis amabilis occidentalis*, *Diadophis amabilis similis*, *Diadophis amabilis vandenburgii*, *Diadophis anthonyi*, *Diadophis arnyi*, *Diadophis laetus*, *Diadophis occidentalis*, *Diadophis pulchellus*, *Diadophis punctatus dougesii*, *Diadophis punctatus pallidus*, *Diadophis punctatus similis*, *Diadophis regalis*, *Diadophis regalis arizonae*, *Diadophis regalis blanchardi*, *Diadophis similis*, *Diadophis texensis*, *Diadophis vandenburgii*

## Common questions

### How big is the ring-necked snake?

An adult ring-necked snake weighs 161 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Is the ring-necked snake an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the ring-necked snake as introduced in 1 country: Cayman Islands, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

### What kind of animal is the ring-necked snake?

The ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

### What eats the ring-necked snake?

Animals recorded preying on the ring-necked snake include racer, milk snake, eastern chipmunk and virginia opossum. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

### Which animals does the ring-necked snake eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the ring-necked snake include red-backed salamander, northern slimy salamander, sharptail snake and black legless lizard. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [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: Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ring-necked-snake