Midwestern worm snake

Midwestern worm snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Xenodontinae
Genus: Carphophis
Species: C. amoenus
Subspecies: C. a. helenae
Trinomial name
Carphophis amoenus helenae
Kennicott, 1859[1]
Synonyms
  • Celuta helenae
    Kennicott, 1859
  • Carphophis amoena var. Helenae
    Jan, 1865
  • Carphophis amoena helenae
    Conant, 1938[2]

The midwestern worm snake, Carphophis amoenus helenae, is a subspecies of C. amoenus, a nonvenomous, colubrid snake, endemic to the Midwest and Southern United States.[3][4]

Etymology

The subspecific name, helenae, is in honor of "Miss Helen Tennison", Robert Kennicott's cousin, who collected specimens for him in Mississippi.[5][6]

Geographic range

The subspecies ranges from southern Ohio to northern Georgia in the east and from southern Illinois to eastern Louisiana in the west.[7]

Description

Adults are small and wormlike, rarely growing longer than 9.8 in (25 cm) in total length. It is plain dark brown on top and light pink on its underside.[3]

Habitat

The midwestern worm snake is fossorial. It spends its life burrowing in moist soil or under the leaf litter searching for soft-bodied prey, with a preference for earthworms. This secretive snake prefers mesic deciduous forest.[3][4]

References

  1. ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 3 "Midwestern Wormsnake". ODNR Division of Wildlife. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Snakes in Alabama". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  5. Beltz, Ellin. 2006. Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained. http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.html.
  6. Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. xiii + 312 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Helen T.", p. 120.)
  7. Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton MIfflin. Boston. xviii + 429 pp. ISBN 0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Carphophis amoenus helenae, p. 175 + Map 131.)

Further reading

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