Pine woods snake

Pine woods snake
Pine woods snake (Rhadinaea flavilata)
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Rhadinaea
Species:	R. flavilata
Binomial name
Rhadinaea flavilata (Cope, 1871)
Synonyms [2] [3] [4]
Dromicus flavilatusCope, 1871 Liophis flavilatus — Boulenger, 1894 Rhadinæa flavilata — Cope, 1895 Leimadophis flavilatus — Stejneger & Barbour, 1917 Rhadinaea flavilata — Myers, 1974

The pine woods snake (Rhadinaea flavilata), also commonly known as the yellow-lipped snake and the brown-headed snake, ^[5] is a secretive species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to scattered locations across the southeastern United States. Rhadinaea flavilata is rear-fanged and mildly venomous, but not dangerous to humans. ^[6]

Detail of head

Description

Rhadinaea flavilata is a small reddish brown to yellowish brown or dark orange snake with a whitish to yellowish, unmarked underside. A dark stripe runs through the eye. A light stripe may be present along the middle of the back. The upper labial scales (lip scales) are a whitish or pale yellow color which led to one of its common names, the yellow-lipped snake. ^{[7] [8]}

The pine woods snake averages between 10 and 13 inches (25–33 cm) in total length (tail included) at adult size. ^[9]

Geographic range

Rhadinaea flavilata is found in scattered localities in coastal North Carolina and South Carolina, most of peninsular Florida, and small portions of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. ^[8]

Habitat

The pine woods snake inhabits pine and mixed-pine hardwood forests. It can be found in damp woodlands, under bark and in rotten logs and stumps. ^[9] The species has a scattered geographic distribution with large expanses occurring between known populations. ^[8]

Behavior and diet

Because Rhadinaea flavilata is mainly found in warm coastal areas, it is active for most of the year. It will hibernate underground or in logs in cold winter conditions. There is little information about the diet of R. flavilata. Captive specimens will eat small frogs, salamanders and small lizards. ^{[8] [9]}

Reproduction

The pine woods snake lays eggs. ^[10] There is little information about reproduction. Mating probably occurs in the spring and one to four eggs are laid during the summer months. Some females lay two clutches of eggs each year. The incubation period is six to eight weeks. ^[8]

Predators

Natural predators of Rhadinaea flavilata include the southern black racer and kingsnakes, as well as carnivorous pine forest animals. Shrews, birds and toads are likely predators. The woods snake does not bite when picked up, but it can release a foul-smelling odor. ^[8]

References

1. Hammerson, G.A. (2007). "Rhadinaea flavilata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63890A12718305. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
2. Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Liophis flavilatus, p. 143).
3. Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Leimadophis flavilatus, pp. 86–87).
4. Species Rhadinaea flavilata at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
5. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, A Division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). (Rhadinaea flavilata, pp. 627–631, Figure 182, Map 47).
6. Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN   0-307-13666-3. ("Front-grooved, rear-fanged group", Rhadinaea flavilata, pp. 176–177).
7. Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN   0-394-50824-6. (Rhadinaea flavilata, pp. 648–649 + Plates 462, 465).
8. Gibbons, Whit; Dorcas, Mike (2005). Snakes of the Southeast. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN   978-0820326528. 253 pp.
9. Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1–48. ISBN   0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN   0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Rhadinaea flavilata, pp. 175–176 + Plate 25 + Map 126).
10. Schmidt KP, Davis DD (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (Rhadinaea flavilata pp. 113–114, Figure 24 + Plate 9).

Further reading

• Conant R, Bridges W (1939). What Snake is That?: A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. (with 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century. Frontispiece map + 163 pp. + Plates A–C, 1–32. (Rhadinaea flavilata, p. 70 + Plate C, Figure 11).
• Cope ED (1871). "Ninth Contribution to the Herpetology of Tropical America". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia23 (2): 200–224. (Dromicus flavilatus, new species, pp. 222–223).
• Malnate E (1939). "A Study of the Yellow-Lipped Snake, Rhadinaea flavilata (Cope)". Zoologica24: 359–366 + one plate.
• Powell, R.; Conant, R.; Collins, J.T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   978-0-544-12997-9. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. (PINE WOODS LITTERSNAKERhadinaea flavilata, pp. 410–411 + Plate 39).
• Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster.160 pp. (Rhadinaea flavilata, pp. 83–84, 156).

External links

• Snakes of Georgia and South Carolina