Cemophora coccinea copei

Northern scarlet snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Subfamily:	Colubrinae
Genus:	Cemophora
Species:	C. coccinea
Subspecies:	C. c. copei
Trinomial name
Cemophora coccinea copei Jan, 1863
Synonyms
Cemophora copii Jan, 1863

The Northern scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea copei) is a subspecies of harmless colubrid snake that is found in the southern and eastern United States. The epithet copei is in honor of renown taxonomist Edward Drinker Cope.

Description

The Northern scarlet snake grows to 36-51 cm (14-20 inches) in total length. It is typically a gray or white base color with 17-24 red blotches bordered by black that go down the back. The black borders on the blotches often join on the lower sides of the snake forming a line down the length of the body. Their scales are smooth. They can sometimes be mistaken for the scarlet kingsnake, (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides) or the Eastern milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum) in the areas where their ranges overlap.

Behavior

The Northern scarlet snake is a secretive, burrowing species, preferring habitats of soft soils, often in open forested areas or developed agricultural land. They spend most of their time hidden, emerging to feed on small rodents and lizards, but they have a particular taste for reptile eggs, swallowing them whole or puncturing them and consuming the contents.

Reproduction

Mating occurs in March through June, with 3-8 eggs laid in mid summer, and hatching in early fall. Hatchlings are 13-15 cm (5-6 inches) in total length.

Geographic distribution

The Northern scarlet snake is found in the United states, in: eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and barely into northern Florida, with disjunct populations New Jersey, and central Missouri.

Conservation status

The Northern scarlet snake holds no particular conservation status throughout most of its range, but it is listed as endangered species in the state of Florida, as it is only known to occur in a single county there.

References

• Species Cemophora coccinea at The Reptile Database

• Herps of Texas: Cemophora coccinea copei
• The Center for Reptile & Amphibian Conservation: Northern Scarlet Snake

External links

• Animals of the Big Thicket Natural Preserve