Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata)
Description: T. coronata is a small, slender snake, greyish-brown or solid light brown in color. It has a black, pointed head with a yellowish or cream band between the head and the neck. This is followed by a black collar 3 to 5 scales wide. The remainder of the back is reddish brown. The belly is light pink or solid white. It has smooth dorsal scales in 15 rows and a divided anal plate. Adults average 8 to 10 inches in total length.[4]
Habitat: The largest populations of the species is found in areas with sandy or loose soils and plentiful organic litter. The southeastern crown snake is commonly found in both damp and dry woodland habitats.
Range: The snake is found in Alabama, northwestern Florida, Georgia, extreme southern Indiana, western Kentucky, eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and south-central Virginia.
Diet: The snake feeds on several kinds of small prey, including termites, worms, centipedes, earth-dwelling insect larvae, and spiders. In the back of the snake's jaw are small, chiseled fangs that are used to inject venom into their prey. All crowned snakes are assumed to be non-venomous to humans.
Reproduction: The southeastern crown snake is oviparous, generally laying 1 to 3 eggs per clutch. Mating occurs in the months from spring through fall. Females that mate in the fall store sperm until the following spring. Females lay their eggs typically in June and July. The eggs hatch in the fall.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
»» Suborder: Serpentes
»» Superfamily: Colubroidea
  »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
»» Genus: Tantilla
»» Species: Tantilla coronata - Southeastern Crowned Snake
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Southeastern Crowned Snake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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