Species Description
The Florida Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus) is one of North America’s largest members of the family Colubridae. Despite being a large, powerful constrictor, they are extremely fossorial and are one of the few North American species that can excavate their own burrows. Although non-venomous and completely harmless, Florida Pinesnakes often exhibit impressive defensive displays when cornered or threatened. These displays include raising the front portion of their body off the ground, gaping, hissing loudly, vibrating their tail, and striking. Unfortunately, these displays often lead to them being killed by people who mistake them for rattlesnakes.
Florida Pinesnakes are robust and can achieve impressive sizes, with the record total length being 228.6 cm (90 in), but average adult lengths range from 122–168 cm (48–66 in). For snakes of their size, they have relatively small heads, and their pointed snouts, with an enlarged rostral scale, aid them in burrowing in loose soil.
Florida Pinesnakes have keeled dorsal scales and generally have a tan, rusty-brown, gray, or even white background with brown, tan, or reddish blotches and mottling. The pattern progresses from heavy mottling at the neck to distinct blotches at midbody and bands on the tail. The degree of patterning is geographically variable, with many populations being very light and faded, and some individuals from Florida appearing almost uniformly colored. The ventral scales of Florida Pinesnakes are generally a uniform gray, tan, cream, or white, but some dark mottling may occasionally occur. In contrast, the Northern Pinesnake (P. m. melanoleucus) has a similar pattern but often with much more black pigment and sharper contrast between the background color and the dark markings. The Black Pinesnake (P. m. lodingi) is almost uniformly dark brown or black, with a faint pattern that darkens with age.
Taxonomy
The Florida Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus) is one of three subspecies of the Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus), with the other two being the Northern Pinesnake (P. m. melanoleucus) and the Black Pinesnake (P. m. lodingi).
The genus Pituophis comes from the Greek words pitys, meaning “pine,” and ophis, meaning “serpent.” The specific epithet melanoleucus is derived from the Greek words melanos, which means “black,” and leukos, meaning “white,” referring to the high-contrast patterns of some Northern Pinesnake populations. The subspecific epithet mugitus means “bellowing” or “roaring” in reference to the loud hissing that all members of this species produce when defensive.
Distribution
The Florida Pinesnake ranges from southern Alabama to southeastern South Carolina and throughout all but the extreme southern part of Florida, where they are thought to be extirpated. Florida Pinesnakes require large areas of intact habitat and are in decline throughout much of their range due to the loss of suitable habitat. The remaining suitable habitat now only supports a patchy distribution throughout their historic range. However, due to their secretive nature, many populations likely remain undetected.
Habitat
Florida Pinesnakes generally utilize habitats with well-drained, sandy soil that can accommodate their fossorial lifestyle. Their habitats are often characterized by a fairly open canopy and grassy ground cover, such as fire-maintained longleaf pine savannas, sandhills, oak scrub, and abandoned agricultural fields. Underground structures, such as pocket gopher tunnel networks and Gopher Tortoise burrows, are also valuable habitat components that benefit Florida Pinesnakes.
Movement and Home Range
Home ranges of Florida Pinesnakes average about 50 hectares; however, males may utilize close to 100 hectares over the course of a year. Pinesnakes appear to be most active on the surface during late spring and early fall, which corresponds with peak breeding activity and hatchlings dispersing from nest sites. Florida Pinesnakes are almost exclusively diurnal, but they can occasionally be crepuscular, and a few records exist of them being observed crossing roads after dark.
In the northern extent of their range, Florida Pinesnakes may occasionally be surface active during warm spells in the winter to bask or shed, but significant winter movements are likely uncommon. Florida Pinesnakes will sometimes excavate their own winter hibernacula, but burrows made by Gopher Tortoises, Nine-banded Armadillos, Southeastern Pocket Gophers, and other small mammals are frequently used as well.
Diet
Florida Pinesnakes are powerful constrictors that actively forage for their prey, both on the surface and in animal burrows. They commonly feed on small mammals, including pocket gophers, mice, rats, moles, voles, small rabbits, and squirrels. However, they will also occasionally prey upon lizards, birds, and eggs.
When encountering prey in underground burrows, Pinesnakes will typically subdue and dispatch their prey by pinning it against the burrow wall rather than coiling around it. Not only is this strategy useful for hunting in tight places where coiling may not be possible, but it may also help the snake kill more quickly while keeping its head and neck away from potentially dangerous prey, like pocket gophers.
Reproduction
Breeding occurs from April to early June throughout most of their range, but winter breeding sometimes occurs in Florida populations. Males will seek out female pheromone trails and actively pursue potential mates. If males encounter each other during the breeding season, they will often engage in bouts of non-lethal combat to establish dominance.
After encountering a female, male Florida Pinesnakes will begin courtship, which involves crawling alongside the female, rubbing her head with his chin, and grasping her head and neck in his mouth. Copulation can last over an hour before the pair goes their separate ways. Females will lay a single clutch of eggs from May to June, often in a specially excavated tunnel. In some locations, multiple females will utilize the same nest tunnel. An average clutch size is nine eggs, and individual eggs are approximately 63 × 35 mm and weigh about 40 grams. The eggs hatch between August and October, and the neonates average 46 cm (18 in.) long and resemble adults in appearance.
Conservation Concerns
Florida Pinesnakes are listed as threatened in every state in which they occur: South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a species status assessment on the Florida Pinesnake and determined it did not meet the criteria for being listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The main threats to Florida Pinesnakes throughout their geographic range are habitat loss and degradation. Much of their historical habitat has either been developed or impacted by timber harvest and agricultural practices, and a significant percentage of the remaining habitat is now highly fragmented and experiencing various degrees of fire suppression. This fragmentation, coupled with their slow crawl speed across paved roads, leads to high road mortality.
The severe decline in pocket gophers, an important source of food and refuge throughout much of their range, has likely negatively affected Pinesnake populations. Finally, persecution by people and illegal collection for the pet trade are likely exacerbating the decline of Florida Pinesnakes in the wild.