Texas Blind Snake
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 Texas Blind Snake
Leptotyphlops dulcis dulcis |
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| Leptotyphlops dulcis Baird and Girard, 1853 |
The Texas Blind Snake or Plains Blind Snake, (Leptotyphlops dulcis), is a species of harmless snake native to the United States.
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[edit] Description
Texas Blind Snakes look much like shiny earthworms. They are pinkish or brown in color with a deep sheen to their scales. They appear to be segmented. Their eyes are no more than two dark dots under the head scales. Their mouths are small and set in an underbite. They can grow to approximately 8 inches at adult size.
[edit] Behavior & Habitat
Texas Blind Snakes spend the vast majority of their time buried in loose soil, only emerging to feed or when it rains and their habitat floods with water. Blind snakes are often found after spring rains, when they are often mistaken for earthworms. If handled they often squirm around and try to poke the tip of their tail into the handler. It is a completely harmless maneuver, and likely serves as a distractive measure. Their mouths are also far too small to effectively bite a human being. Texas Blind Snake diet is primarily termite and ant larvae.
[edit] Subspecies
- New Mexico Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis dissectus (Cope, 1896)
- Plains Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis dulcis (Baird and Girard, 1853)
- Leptotyphlops dulcis myopicus (Garman, 1884)
[edit] Conservation concerns
Gauging wild blind snake populations is virtually impossible due to their secretive nature, but it is known that, like many other native Texas species, it is being detrimentally affected by the imported fire ant.
[edit] References
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