Bluestripe ribbon snake
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| Bluestripe ribbon snake | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Thamnophis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | T. s. nitae
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| Trinomial name | |
| Thamnophis saurita nitae Rossman, 1963
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The bluestripe ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita nitae), which belongs in the same family as the garter snakes, is a subspecies of the ribbon snake that occurs along the Gulf Coast in Florida. Adults are thin and are black with a mid-dorsal stripe that is a lighter shade of black and two blue stripes, hence the name "bluestripe ribbon snake". They are semi-aquatic and are active during the day. They can be found by lakes, rivers, and slow-moving streams.
Diet
[edit]They eat frogs, salamanders, small fishes, earthworms, minnows, lizards, and insects.
Size
[edit]In adulthood they grow to be 45 to 63 cm (18 to 25 in). They start out at 17 to 18 cm (6.5 to 7 in) after hatching.