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. A large specimen from Putyatin Island measured up to 90 cm (3.0 ft) in length.^[3]

Steppe rat snake
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific 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]
Coluber dione Pallas, 1773 Chironius dione — Fitzinger, 1826 Coelopeltis dione — Eichwald, 1841 Elaphis dione — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Elaphe dione — Stejneger, 1907

Etymology

The specific name, dione, refers to the Greek mythological figure Dione who was the mother of Aphrodite.^[4]

Habitat

E. dione is found in eastern Ukraine, southern and southeastern Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, parts of China, and Korea.^[1][2] It 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 (2.22 mi).^[1]

Behavior

An adult female mates with two or more males, sometimes copulating with two males at the same time.^[5] E. dione is oviparous,^[2] and adult females lay a clutch of 3–15 eggs in July or August,^[1] though some can lay a clutch of up to 24 eggs.^[6]

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. Ratnikov, V. (2022). "Comparative Osteology of Two Far Eastern Species of Ratsnakes (Serpentes: Colubridae), Elaphe dione (Pallas, 1773) and E. schrenckii (Strauch, 1873), for the Purpose of Palaeontological Studies". Asian Herpetological Research. 13 (1): 1–22. doi:10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.210021.
4. 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).
5. Do, M.S.; Choi, J.H.; Lee, H.-T.; Lee, S.-C. (2004). "Mating System and Behavior of Steppe Rat Snake (Elaphe dione) in South Korea". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 31 (1): 56–59. doi:10.30906/1026-2296-2024-31-1-56-59.
6. Pokhilyuk, Nikita E. (2022). "Notes on Captive Breeding of Three Snake Species (Colubridae) from the Russian Far East". Jordan Journal of Natural History. 9 (1): 19–23.

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). doi:10.5962/bhl.title.8316
• 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. JSTOR 3889565
• 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).