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Eastern Earth Snake Range Map



Eastern Earth Snake Video



Eastern Earth Snake Juvenile
Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Smooth Earth Snakes »» Eastern Earth Snake (Virgnia valeriae valeriae)


Eastern Earth Snake (Virgnia valeriae valeriae)STATUS





Description: Small fossorial species mostly plain gray, brown or reddish brown with scattered small black dots or flecks. The belly is unmarked white or yellow in color. Scales smooth with a divided anal plate. Juveniles are similar to adults. Rare in Pennsylvania having not been observed in recent years. Found under various cover objects.

Habitat: Deciduous forest, open hardwood forest, wood/field borders. May be found under rocks, logs, leaf litter, and other surface debris.

Range: New Jersey to Georgia and west through northern Alabama, Tennessee, and southern Ohio.

Found in these States: AL | DE | FL | GA | KY | MD | MS | NC | NJ | OH | PA | SC | TN | VA

Diet: The eastern earth snake eats primarily earthworms and soft-bodied arthropods.

Reproduction: Bears live young in August. Brood size is usually fewer than 10. The total length of a newborn is about bout 2.5 inches.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Virgnia
                     »» Species: Virgnia valeriae - Smooth Earth Snakes
                       »» Subspecies: Virgnia valeriae valeriae - Eastern Earth Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Smooth Earth Snake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

  

 

 

 

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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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