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Midwestern Worm Snake Range Map






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Midwestern Worm Snake Juvenile

Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Eastern Worm Snakes »» Midwestern Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)


Midwestern Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)STATUS





Description: When adult, C. a. helenae is small and wormlike, rarely growing longer than 9.8 inches in total length (including tail). It is plain dark brown on top and light pink on its underside.

The scalation on the anterior dorsal surface of the head is distinctive. Instead of having a pair of internasals and a pair of prefrontals, as are found in most snakes including other subspecies of C. amoenus, the midwestern worm snake has each internasal fused with its corresponding prefrontal. As a result, in the space between the rostral and the frontal, C. a. helenae has two large head shields, one on the left and one on the right, instead of the usual four smaller shields.


Habitat: The habitat consists of mesic, wooded or partially wooded areas (hardwood or pine), often along edges or ecotones, such as near wetlands or margins of farm fields, and often in hilly areas but sometimes in flatwoods. This snake occurs in loose damp soil, under surface cover or leaf litter, or in rotted logs; it goes deep underground during cold or dry weather.


Range: The subspecies C. a. helenae ranges from southern Ohio to northern Georgia in the east and from southern Illinois to eastern Louisiana in the west.


Found in these States: AL | AR | GA | IL | IN | KY | LA | OH | TN | VA


Diet: It spends its life burrowing in moist soil or under the leaf litter searching for soft-bodied prey, with a preference for earthworms.


Reproduction: Eggs are laid under rocks, in rotting logs, stumps, or sawdust piles.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, 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: Carphophis
                     »» Species: Carphophis amoenus - Eastern Worm Snakes
                       »» Subspecies: Carphophis amoenus helenae - Midwestern Worm Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Midwestern Worm 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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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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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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