Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae)
Description: The smooth earth snake is a small -- 7-10 inches –- somewhat heavy-bodied, brown to gray snake with smooth scales and a pointed snout. Most individuals have small black spots scattered on the back and sides. The belly is tan to whitish and is not sharply defined in color from the color of the sides. Smooth scales differentiate this species from the similar rough earth snake (Haldea striatula).
Habitat: They feed on earthworms and soft-bodied insects. This species is found in a variety of forested habitats with plenty of ground cover, but is most common in moist deciduous forests and edge habitats.
Range: This species can be found in scattered locations throughout the eastern and central U.S. and throughout Georgia and South Carolina. Its geographic range includes much of the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and mountains, from southern Virginia to Louisiana, but the species is absent from peninsular Florida and most of the region of either side of the Mississippi River.
Diet: They feed on earthworms and soft-bodied insects.
Reproduction: This species is viviparous, giving live birth to as many as 14 live young in the late summer.
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. Smooth earth snakes are generally uncommon and not protected in most of their range. They are protected throughout the state of Georgia.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
»» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
»» Suborder: Serpentes
»» Superfamily: Colubroidea
»» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
»» Genus: Virginia
»» Species: Virginia valeriae - Smooth 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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