Subphylum Vertebrata Rank Subspecies | Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Suborder Serpentes | |
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Similar Carphophis, Carphophis amoenus, Carphophis vermis, Midland Water Snake, Virginia | ||
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.
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Etymology
The subspecific name, helenae, is in honor of "Miss Helen Tennison", Robert Kennicott's cousin, who collected specimens for him in Mississippi.
Geographic range
The subspecies ranges from southern Ohio to northern Georgia in the east and from southern Illinois to eastern Louisiana in the west.
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.
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.