Steppe Rat Snake

About the 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.

The specific name, dione, refers to the Greek mythological figure Dione who was the mother of Aphrodite. E. dione is found in eastern Ukraine, southern and southeastern Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, parts of China, and Korea. 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).

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

Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing... Wikipedia →