Short-tailed Snake (Stilosoma extenuatum)

Short-tailed Snake
Photograph by Charles R. Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. License: Public Domain. (view image details)

SHORT-TAILED SNAKE FACTS

Description
The Short-tailed Snake is a slender gray snake with 50-80 dark brown or black blotches down the back. There are also dark spots on the sides that alternate with the spots on the back. There is an orange stripe running along the centre of the back in between the dark blotches. The underside is white with dark blotches. The head is small and blunt, and colored dark brown or black on top. The tail is short, as the common name suggests (about 10% of total length).

Size
length 35cm - 50cm. Can grow to 65cm.

Environment
upland woodlands, pine scrub, coastal woodlands. Prefers sandy soils. It is a burrowing snake and rarely seen above ground.

Food
eats mainly snakes (especially Florida crowned snake - Tantilla relicta). May also eat small lizards.

Breeding
lays eggs - probably underground

Range
only found in northern and central Florida

Notes
The Short-tailed Snake is rare and listed as "threatened" by the State of Florida.

Conservation Status
The conservation status in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "near threatened".

Classification

Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata (Serpentes)
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Stilosoma
Species:	extenuatum
Common Name:	Short-tailed Snake

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