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Home »» Snakes »» Leptotyphlopidae (Blind Snakes) »» Western Blind Snakes »» Desert Blind Snake (Rena humilis cahuilae)


Desert Blind Snake (Rena humilis cahuilae)Species of Least Concern





Description: Adults 7 to 16 inches long. Hatchlings are around 4 to 5 inches long. A very thin snake with a blunt head and tail. The tail is tipped with a small spine. Eyes are nonfunctional dark spots visible under translucent plates. The scales are shiny and cycloid. Belly plates are not enlarged. The lower jaw is countersunk. This snake can be mistaken for a large worm. Coloring is brown, purple, or pink.

Habitat: Inhabits areas where the soil is suitable for burrowing: brushy mountain slopes, deserts, rocky hillsides, washes near streams.

Range: This subspecies, Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Threadsnake, is found in southeastern California east of the peninsular ranges into southwest Arizona, south into Sonora and Baja California.

Found in these States: AZ | CA

Diet: Eats ants and termites and their larvae and pupae, and occasionally other small insects. When hunting for food, burrows under roots, rocks, and into ants nests. Slender body allows them to forage in their ant and termite prey's burrow systems.

Reproduction: Mates in the spring, lays eggs July to August. Females tend to the eggs, and may use communal nests.

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
             »» Infraorder: Scolecophidia
               »» Family: Leptotyphlopidae - Blind Snakes
                   »» Genus: Rena
                     »» Species: Rena humilis - Western Blind Snake
                       »» Subspecies: Rena humilis cahuilae - Desert Blind Snake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rena humilis", 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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