Worm Snake

(Carphophis amoenus)

Color Photograph: Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Underside

Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus)

Identification:  A very small, cylindrical snake, 8 to 15 inches in length. Dorsal coloration brown, shading to gray or black, without markings. Underside pink. Tail short and ending in a point. Anal plate divided.

Geographical Variation:

Eastern Worm Snake (C. a. amoenus): Dorsal surface brown; prefrontal and nasal scales separate and distinct. Range: southern New England and southeastern New York.

Midwest Worm Snake (C. a. helenae): Dorsal surface brown; prefrontal and internasal scales fused. Range: Ohio westward to southern Illinois, and south to the Gulf Coast.

Western Worm Snake (C. a. vermis): Dorsum black; prefrontal and internasal scales separate and distinct. Range: Southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska, southward west of the Mississippi River to northern Louisiana.

Similar Species:  None.

Range (see map left): This species is most common in the mid-Atlantic region, ranging from southern Massachusetts in the north to Georgia and South Carolina in the south, extending westward to eastern Kansas and Oklahoma.

Habitat: The Worm Snake is found in wet areas particularly damp hilly woods and along streams.

Food: This species feeds on earthworms.

Behavior: The Worm Snake is secretive and lives in damp areas such as under rocks or rotting logs. During the winter or dry periods of the summer, this small snakes deep into the ground.

Reproduction: Clutch consists of 1 to 8 elongate, small eggs. The adults mate in the spring and fall. Eggs are laid in June and July.

Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus)

Similar Species:

The small, worm-like appearance of this species is distinctive.

Similar Species:

No Similar Species