''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
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 ...
. The species is native to
Asia and
Eastern Europe. There are no
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 ...
that are recognized as being valid.
Geographic range
''E. dione'' is found in eastern
Ukraine, southern and southeastern
Russia,
Central Asia,
Iran,
Afghanistan,
Mongolia, parts of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and
Korea.
Habitat
''E. dione'' is found in a wide variety of
habitats including
forest,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
,
grassland, rocky areas,
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, freshwater
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
, and disturbed areas, at altitudes from sea level to .
Reproduction
''E. dione'' is
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 ...
.
[ An adult female may lay a ]clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
of 3–15 eggs in July or August.
Etymology
The specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''dione'', refers to the Greek mythological figure Dione Dione may refer to:
Astronomy
*106 Dione, a large main belt asteroid
*Dione (moon), a moon of Saturn
*Helene (moon), a moon of Saturn sometimes referred to as "Dione B"
Mythology
*Dione (Titaness), a Titaness in Greek mythology
*Dione (mythology) ...
who was the mother of Aphrodite.[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Elaphe dione'', p. 73).]
References
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).
Elaphe
Snakes of Asia
Reptiles of Central Asia
Reptiles of the Middle East
Reptiles of Europe
Reptiles of Afghanistan
Snakes of China
Reptiles of Iran
Reptiles of Korea
Reptiles of Mongolia
Reptiles of Russia
Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas
Reptiles described in 1773
{{colubrid-stub