Steppe rat snake

Elaphe dione, commonly known as Dione's rat snake, the steppe rat snake, or the steppes rat snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Asia and Eastern Europe. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Steppe rat snake
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Elaphe
Species:
E. dione
Binomial name
Elaphe dione
(Pallas, 1773)
Synonyms[2]

Geographic range

E. dione is found in eastern Ukraine, southern and southeastern Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, parts of China, and Korea.[1][2]

Habitat

E. dione is found in a wide variety of habitats including forest, shrubland, grassland, rocky areas, desert, freshwater wetlands, and disturbed areas, at altitudes from sea level to 3,580 m (11,750 ft).[1]

Reproduction

E. dione is oviparous.[2] An adult female may lay a clutch of 3–15 eggs in July or August.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, dione, refers to the Greek mythological figure Dione who was the mother of Aphrodite.[3]

References
  1. Aghasyan, A.; Avci, A.; Tuniyev, B.; Crnobrnja-Isailovic, J.; Lymberakis, P.; Andrén, C.; Cogalniceanu, D.; Wilkinson, J.; Ananjeva, N.B.; Üzüm, N.; Orlov, N.L.; Podloucky, R.; Tuniyev, S.; Kaya, U.; Li, P.; Borkin, L.; Milto, K.; Golynsky, E.; Rustamov, A.; Nuridjanov, D.; Munkhbayar, K.; Shestapol, A. (2017). "Elaphe dione". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T157275A747623. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T157275A747623.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Elaphe dione at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Elaphe dione, p. 73).

Further reading
  • 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. (Coluber dione, pp. 44–45).
  • Pallas PS (1773). Reise durch verschiedenen Provinzen des Russischen Reichs, Zweiter Theil. [=Travels through different Provinces of the Russian Empire, Volume 2]. Saint Petersburg: Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 744 pp. (Coluber dione, new species, p. 717). (in German and Latin).
  • Shannon FA (1956). "The Reptiles and Amphibians of Korea". Herpetologica 12 (1): 22–49.
  • Stejneger L (1907). Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory. United States National Museum Bulletin 58. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xx + 577 pp. (Elaphe dione, new combination, pp. 315–318, Figure 272).


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