Tropidoclonion
Encyclopedia
Tropidoclonion is a genus
of small colubrid
snake
s known as lined snakes. There is a single species
Tropidoclonion lineatum in the genus, with four subspecies
.
from Illinois
to Texas
. They prefer grassland
areas with soft, moist soils.
to brown
with a distinctive tan
or yellow
stripe down their backs from head to tail
. They have similar stripes down each side on scale rows 2 & 3. On the belly they have a double row of clean-cut black half-moon spots running down the middle.They have a narrow head and small eye
s. Adult size is typically less than 35 cm (14 in.).
, spending most of their time hiding under rocks, leaf litter, logs, or buried in the soil. The majority of their diet
consists of earthworm
s.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small colubrid
Colubrid
A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...
snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s known as lined snakes. There is a single species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Tropidoclonion lineatum in the genus, with four subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
.
Subspecies
- Central lined snake, Tropidoclonion lineatum annectens Ramsey, 1953
- Northern lined snake, Tropidoclonion lineatum lineatum (Hallowell, 1856)
- Merten's lined snake, Tropidoclonion lineatum mertensi Smith, 1965
- Texas lined snake, Tropidoclonion lineatum texanumTropidoclonion lineatum texanumThe Texas lined snake is a subspecies of nonvenomous colubrid snake found in the southcentral United States, primarily in the state of Texas. It is a relatively common, fossorial subspecies, spending most of its time buried in leaf litter, and eating earthworms...
Ramsey, 1953
Geographic range
Lined snakes are found throughout the central United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. They prefer grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
areas with soft, moist soils.
Description
Lined snakes are olive greenGreen
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
to brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
with a distinctive tan
Tan (color)
Tan is a pale whiteish, tawny shade of white. The name is derived from tannum used in the tanning of leather.The first recorded use of tan as a shade name in English was in the year 1590....
or yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
stripe down their backs from head to tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...
. They have similar stripes down each side on scale rows 2 & 3. On the belly they have a double row of clean-cut black half-moon spots running down the middle.They have a narrow head and small eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
s. Adult size is typically less than 35 cm (14 in.).
Behavior
Lined snakes are semi-fossorialFossorial
A fossorial organism is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae...
, spending most of their time hiding under rocks, leaf litter, logs, or buried in the soil. The majority of their diet
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
consists of earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s.