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Lined Snake
Tropidoclonion lineatum
Status
Listed as a species of Special Concern
in Minnesota.
Description
This snake resembles a small, colorless
garter snake. It is 8-10 inches long and is nonvenomous. There
is little variation in this species so identification is easy.
There is a light (almost always white; rarely yellow) mid
dorsal stripe. There is also a light lateral stripe on each
side of the snake. Ground color is gray or brown and there
are some dark dots between the dorsal and lateral stripes.
The belly is plain white with two rows of bold black half
moons down the center. Sometimes there is a yellowish stripe
over the moons, but they still retain their boldness. This
characteristic is enough to distinguish it from all our other
snakes. The scales are keeled and the anal plate is single.
Subspecies
No subspecies of Tropidoclonion lineatum
are recognized any longer.
Range
In Minnesota this snake has been found
only in the Blue Mounds State Park in Rock County. This park
is mostly prairie with Sioux outcropping. Although counties
north and east have similar habitat, searches have failed
to yield any additional populations of this secretive snake.
It is listed as special concern, but it should be elevated
to threatened or endangered due to the paucity of known populations
in the state. If anyone finds a snake suspected of being a
lined snake outside of Blue Mounds State Park retain the specimen
and contact the Minnesota Herpetological Society or the MN
DNR immediately!
Habitat
Lined Snakes are found in prairies, grasslands,
pastures, woodland edges, and even city parks, city lots,
cemeteries, and backyards in states south and west of Minnesota.
Habits
Lined Snakes are secretive snakes hiding
beneath debris during the day. They often hunt at night above
ground when earthworms are present and easily captured. This
snake is inoffensive and if it were to bite, it could do no
damage at all. It breeds in the fall; this is why most specimens
are found (by far!) during this time in Minnesota and Iowa.
In other states, they may also be quite common in the spring,
however. The female gives birth to 5-10 young in autumn. They
are three inches long at birth. They hibernate deep in the
rocky outcroppings.
Food
Lined Snakes' favorite food is earthworms,
but slugs, snails, soft-bodied insects are also consumed.
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