Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus
Encyclopedia
The Redstripe Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus) is a subspecies
of garter snake
found in the southern United States
. It is semi-aquatic, spending most of its time on the edge of permanent bodies of water: Swamps, ponds, lakes, or slow moving streams. Their primary diet
is amphibian
s, such as the northern cricket frog, (Acris crepitans
), but they will also consume lizard
s, and small rodent
s. They get their common name from the distinctive red
stripe down the center of their back. They are fast moving, and excellent swimmers.
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of garter snake
Garter snake
The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...
found in the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is semi-aquatic, spending most of its time on the edge of permanent bodies of water: Swamps, ponds, lakes, or slow moving streams. Their primary diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
is amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, such as the northern cricket frog, (Acris crepitans
Acris crepitans
The Northern Cricket Frog is a species of small Hylid frog native to the United States and northeastern Mexico. Despite being members of the tree frog family, they are not arboreal...
), but they will also consume lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, and small rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s. They get their common name from the distinctive red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
stripe down the center of their back. They are fast moving, and excellent swimmers.