Carphophis

Taxobox
name = "Carphophis"


image_width =
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Reptilia
ordo = Squamata
subordo = Serpentes
familia = Colubridae
subfamilia = Xenodontinae
genus = "Carphophis"
genus_authority = Gervais, 1843

"Carphophis" is a genus of colubrid snakes commonly referred to as worm snakes. The genus consists of two species, which are divided into the eastern and western types. They are found only in the eastern half of the United States.

Description

Worm snakes are small (35 cm) snakes. They are usually a dark brown in color, with a lighter colored, pink or orange underside. They are easily mistaken for other similar species, such as the earth snakes, "Virginia sp." and brown snakes, "Storeria sp." They have a narrow head, and small eyes, and a sharp tail tip.

Behavior

Worm snakes are fossorial snakes, and spend the vast majority of their time buried in loose, rocky soil, or under forest leaf litter. They are abundant within their range, but rarely seen due to their secretive nature. Little is known about their mating habits, but breeding likely occurs in the early spring and eggs are laid in the early summer. Clutch size is normally 2-5 eggs and hatching takes place in August or September. Hatchlings range in size from 7 to 12 cm. Worm snake diet consists almost entirely of earthworms but they will also consume other soft bodied insects. They are a common food source for ophiophagus snake species, such as the coral snake.

Species

*"Carphophis amoenus"
**Eastern Worm Snake, "Carphophis amoenus amoenus" (Say, 1825)
**Midwestern Worm Snake, "Carphophis amoenus helenae" (Kennicott, 1859)
*Western Worm Snake, "Carphophis vermis" (Kennicott, 1859)

Geographic distribution

*"C. amoenus" - Arkansas, eastern Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, northern Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southern Ohio, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, southeastern New York, and Connecticut.
*"C. vermis" - southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, western Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, and northeastern Texas with isolated records from southwestern Wisconsin, and southeastern Arkansas.

External links

* [http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/herpdist/species/ca_amoenus.html Illinois Natural History Survey - "Carphophis amoenus"]
* [http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/reptiles/snakes/worm_snake.html Western Worm Snake, "Carphophis vermis" photographs]
* [http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=26 Western Worm Snake - Carphophis vermis] Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide

References

*EMBL genus|genus=Carphophis