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Ninia diademata BAIRD & GIRARD, 1853

IUCN Red List - Ninia diademata - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Dipsadinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesNinia diademata diademata (BAIRD & GIRARD 1853)
Ninia diademata labiosa (BOCOURT 1883)
Ninia diademata nietoi BURGER & WERLER 1954
Ninia diademata plorator SMITH 1942 
Common Namesdiademata: Veracruz Ringneck Coffee Snake
nietoi: Caribbean Ring-necked Coffee Snake
labiosa: Pacific Ring-necked Coffee Snake
plorator: Hidalgo Ring-necked Coffee Snake
S: Dormilona de Collar 
SynonymNinia diademata BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 49
Streptophorus bifasciatus — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 520
Streptophorus bifasciatus — JAN 1865
Ninia diademata — GARMAN 1884: 96
Ninia diademata — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 222
Streptophorus diadematus — BOULENGER 1893: 292
Ninia diademata diademata — SHANNON & SMITH 1949
Ninia diademata diademata — LIVEZEY & PECKHAM 1953
Ninia diademata diademata — BURGER & WERLER 1954: 663
Ninia diademata — VILLA et al. 1988
Ninia diademata — LINER 1994
Ninia diademata diademata — LINER 2007
Ninia diademata — WALLACH et al. 2014: 486

Ninia diademata labiosa (BOCOURT 1883)
Streptophorus labiosus BOCOURT 1883: 550
Streptophorus labiosus — BOULENGER 1893: 293
Ninia diademata labiosa — AMARAL 1930: 151
Ninia diademata labiosa — BURGER & WERLER 1954: 660
Ninia diademata labiosa — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 222
Ninia diademata labiosa — LINER 2007
Ninia labiosa — ANGARITA-SIERRA 2014: 124

Ninia diademata nietoi BURGER & WERLER 1954
Ninia diademata nietoi — LINER 2007

Ninia diademata plorator SMITH 1942
Ninia diademata plorator — TAYLOR 1949: 195
Ninia diademata plorator — BURGER & WERLER 1954: 664
Ninia diademata plorator — LINER 2007 
DistributionMexico (Quéretaro, Puebla, Campeche etc.), Belize, Guatemala, Honduras (elevation 0-1370 m), Guatemala

diademata: from the Caribbean versant of Veracruz south to Comitán, Chiapas. Type locality: “Orizaba, state of Veracruz, Mexico”

nietoi: Type locality: Mexico: San Andres Tuxtla, Veracruz;

plorator: Mexico (San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo); type locality: Durango, Hidalgo.

labiosa: Pacific slopes from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Guatemala; Type locality: Guatemala, restricted to “Yepocapa, dept. Chimaltenango”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 12122
Holotype: INHS (= UIMNH) 28512; The INHS (= UIMNH) catalogue number is erroneously given as 2851 in Burger and Werler (1954), J. Werler 1951 [nietoi]
Holotype: MNHN-RA 5944 [labiosa]
Holotype: FMNH 100042 [plorator] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 2439 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentNinia diademata mimicks Micrurus elegans (TORRE-LORANCA et al. 2006).

Distribution: for a map of all subspecies see ANGARITA-SIERRA 2014: 124. Not in Durango fide Lemos-Espinal (2018).

Subspecies: ANGARITA-SIERRA 2014 elevated Ninia diademata labiosa to full species level. However, the elevation seems to have been based primarily on hemipenial characters. We prefer to postpone following this suggestion until molecular data supports it.

Type species: Ninia diademata BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 49 is the type species of the genus Ninia BAIRD & GIRARD 1853.

Genome: Colston et al. 2025. 
EtymologyThe specific name is composed of the Greek words diadem, meaning "headband," in reference to the pale collar, and ata, meaning "belonging to” (LEMOS-ESPINAL & DIXON 2013).

The derivation of the genus name is unknown. McCranie (2011) speculates that Ninia might be derived from the English word nine and the Greek suffix -ia (pertaining to), in reference to the normal colubrid condition of having nine large scales on the dorsal surface of the head. 
References
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