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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Florida
pine snake, southern pine snake |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Colubridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Large
powerful snake with disproportionately small head;
ranges from beige to tan in color; back has faded
blotches; ventrals are usually immaculate, colored
typically in a smoky gray or off white |
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| SIZE: |
Up
to 210 cm (7 ft); young hatched at 7.2 cm (18 in) |
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| DIET: |
Variety
of warm-blooded vertebrates, reptile, amphibians,
birds, and eggs |
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| INCUBATION: |
75-90 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Up
to several dozen eggs |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
2-3 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Can
exceed 15 years, even longer in captivity; record
is 25 years |
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| RANGE: |
Most
of Florida (excluding the Keys) , southern and middle
Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the southwestern
quarter of South Carolina |
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| HABITAT: |
Sandy,
open areas, including oak woodland, abandoned fields
and longleaf pine forests |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
When
disturbed, the Florida pine snake will inflate and
rear the front of its body off the ground while
hissing very loudly. |
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| 2. |
Secretive reptiles, pine snakes will also dig their
own burrows as well as utilize those made by other
animals. They will also use other burrows in search
of prey, such as pocket gophers. |
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| 3. |
They have the ability to catch multiple rodents
at a time by immobilizing prey against a burrow
wall, pressing against the rodent with half coils
of their body. |
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| 4. |
The
pine snake is an unusual animal in the fact that
it will dig its own burrow for egg laying. |
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Intensive cultivation of much of its habitat for
pine tree farms is probably the major factor in
its population decline. In Florida, the citrus
industry, real estate development, and the corresponding
road construction have also have had an enormous
impact on this snake. Currently, herpetologists
are investigating the impact the Latin American
fire ant introduction on native herp species,
including the Florida Pine. Also, during rattlesnake
round-ups gopher tortoise burrows are injected
with gas to unearth the inhabitants and this practice
has undoubtedly had a negative impact, since the
Florida pine is often a cohabitant with the tortoise.
Consequently, it is protected by Florida state
laws.
These
snakes help keep the rodent population in check
and are sometimes food for other predators as
well.
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|
|
Coborn, John. The Atlas of Snakes of the World.
New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1991. |
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Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Reptiles
and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. |
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Mattison, Chris. Snakes of the World. New
York: Facts on File Publications, 1986.
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| Mehrtens,
John M. Living Snakes of the World. New York:
Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 1987. |
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