Description: The typical total length of an adult Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) varies somewhat by subspecies but in general it is about 11 to 16 inches. Hatchlings are much smaller and longer specimens are sometimes found. The record length is 33 5/8 inches. A small, thin snake with smooth scales. Gray, blue-gray, blackish, or dark olive dorsal coloring, with a bright orange to reddish underside, speckled with black markings. The underside of the tail is a bright reddish orange. A narrow orange band around the neck, 1.5 to 2 scale rows wide.

Habitat: Prefers moist habitats, including wet meadows, rocky hillsides, gardens, farmland, grassland, chaparral, mixed coniferous forests, woodlands.

Range: This subspecies is endemic to California. Found along the southern California coast from the Santa Barbara area south along the coast to San Diego County, and inland into the San Bernardino mountains, with a wide range of intergradation with D. p. pulchellus north into the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Kern County.

Found in these States: CA

Diet: Eats slender salamanders and other small salamanders, tadpoles, small frogs, small snakes, lizards, worms, slugs, and insects. The mild venom may help to incapacitate prey.

Reproduction: Females are oviparous, laying eggs in the summer, sometimes in a communal nest.

Status: This species has a limited distribution, and because of its proximity and overlap with major metropolitan regions of southern California, habitat loss due to urban and commercial development is likely. There is a lack of information on trends but it is likely populations have decreased, though to what degree is unclear.

Taxonomy: