''Cemophora coccinea coccinea'', commonly known as the Florida scarlet snake, is the nominotypical

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

scarlet snake ''Cemophora coccinea'', commonly known as the scarlet snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. There are two subspecies of ''C. coccinea'' that are recognized as ...

. It is a nonvenomous

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Geographic range

It is found exclusively in peninsular

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, from as far north as Marion County to the southern tip of the state.

Description

The Florida scarlet snake grows to in total length (body + tail), record . It is typically gray or white, with red blotches bordered by black along its 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. Its belly is a uniform white. Its scales are smooth. Scarlet snakes 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. The Florida scarlet snake can easily be distinguished from the scarlet kingsnake by its white (rather than yellow) bands, and from the Eastern milk snake by its red head and slightly upturned nose. Distinguishing the Florida scarlet snake from the closely allied Northern scarlet snake is more difficult, although generally the

can be identified based on location; the ranges of the two subspecies overlap only minimally. The main point of distinction is in the number of upper labial scales present in each subspecies: the Florida scarlet snake has 7 upper labial scales, while the Northern scarlet snake has 6.

Behavior

Like other scarlet snakes, the Florida scarlet snake is a secretive, burrowing species, preferring

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of soft soils, often in open

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ed areas or developed agricultural land. They spend most of their time hidden, emerging to feed on small

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s and

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, but they have a particular taste for

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, swallowing them whole or puncturing them and consuming the contents.

Reproduction

Florida scarlet snakes are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

. Mating occurs in March through June, with 3-8 eggs laid in mid summer, and hatching in early fall. Hatchlings are in length.

References

*
The Florida Museum of Natural History: ''Cemophora coccinea coccinea''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5058749 Cemophora Fauna of the Southeastern United States Reptiles of the United States