Virginia striatula
Encyclopedia
The rough earth snake is a species
of nonvenomous natricine
colubrid
snake
native to the southeastern United States
. It was first described by Carolus Linnaeus
in 1766, as Coluber striatulus.
to Florida
, and as far north as Missouri
and Virginia
.
(which gives it its common name), and a light colored underside. They do not typically grow beyond 10 inches in length, with 7 inches being average. It is easily mistaken for the smooth earth snake, Virginia valeriae
, with which it shares range and habitat. The keeled scales of V. striatula are the only way to visually distinguish the species from V. valeriae, which has smooth (non-keeled) scales.
species, spending most of their time buried in leaf litter, loose soil, or beneath rotting logs or other ground debris. It prefers habitats that are not prone to flooding.
, with young being born in mid-summer. Brood size varies from 3 to 8. Newborns are about 10 cm (4 inches) in total length.
consists of earthworm
s and soft-bodied arthropod
s. Earth snakes eat a wide variety of suitably sized insects and other invertebrates, including snails and slugs, making them a gardener's friend.
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...
of nonvenomous natricine
Natricinae
Natricinae is a subfamily of the colubrid family of snakes which contains 28 genera. Members of this subfamily include many very common snake species, such as the European Grass Snakes, and the North American Water Snakes.- Genera :...
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...
native to the southeastern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was first described by Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in 1766, as Coluber striatulus.
Geographic range
It is found from TexasTexas
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...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and as far north as Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Description
The rough earth snake is a small, brown, unpatterned snake with lightly keeled scalesScale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
(which gives it its common name), and a light colored underside. They do not typically grow beyond 10 inches in length, with 7 inches being average. It is easily mistaken for the smooth earth snake, Virginia valeriae
Virginia valeriae
The smooth earth snake is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid snake native to the eastern half of the United States...
, with which it shares range and habitat. The keeled scales of V. striatula are the only way to visually distinguish the species from V. valeriae, which has smooth (non-keeled) scales.
Habitat
They are a 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...
species, spending most of their time buried in leaf litter, loose soil, or beneath rotting logs or other ground debris. It prefers habitats that are not prone to flooding.
Reproduction
They are ovoviviparousOvoviviparity
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, or ovivipary, is a mode of reproduction in animals in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother's body until they are ready to hatch...
, with young being born in mid-summer. Brood size varies from 3 to 8. Newborns are about 10 cm (4 inches) in total length.
Behavior
Given their lack of sufficient defense mechanisms against larger animals, earth snakes are generally not aggressive towards humans and are harmless if encountered. While they do have teeth, the size of the mouth and teeth make any strikes against humans superficial at worst. They can defecate as a defense mechanism to make them less palatable to would-be predators. If necessary, they can be safely picked up by hand and relocated.Diet
Their primary dietDiet (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 and soft-bodied arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s. Earth snakes eat a wide variety of suitably sized insects and other invertebrates, including snails and slugs, making them a gardener's friend.