Overview
The short-tailed snake is a small non-venomous snake that inhabits the dry upland sandhills and sand pine scrub of Peninsular Florida. It lives underground and is mostly nocturnal. It can reach 20 inches long with a cylindrical body that transitions into its head with a noticeably short tail. Little is known about the short-tailed snake about its life history.
Threats
This snake faces numerous threats across its range. The main threats are habitat loss and degradation from commercial and residential development, agriculture, silviculture, and mining. Clear-cutting of longleaf pine and turkey oak in their habitat severely affects the short-tailed snake. Predation from red fire ants also poses a threat.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Life Cycle
The life span and age at maturity of the short-tailed snake are unknown.
Little information is available about the reproduction of the short-tailed snake. Attempts to breed this species in captivity have been unsuccessful.
Food
The short-tailed snake primarily feeds on small smooth-scaled snakes.
Habitat
The short-tailed snake inhabits dry, upland natural communities and their transition areas in well-drained sandy soils in sandhills, scrub, and dry hammocks. Transition areas that may support the short-tailed snake include scrubby flatwoods and moderately moist hammocks. Scrubby flatwoods connected to scrub or sandhill communities.
Behavior
This snake is a burrower and is rarely seen. It is active during the day and night, with peak above-ground activity in April and October. When startled by predators or people, it vibrates its tail, a behavior common to other snakes of the tribe Lampropeltini. However, its slender build and lack of a rattle distinguish it from a rattlesnake.
Physical Characteristics
The short-tailed snake is slender and can grow up to 20 inches long. Its cylindrical body transitions into its head, and it has a noticeably short tail, which averages 10% of its body length. It is gray to silver with 50 to 80 dark brown to black lateral blotches and yellow to reddish pigment on its back. Its underside is gray to brown with white spots and flecks. The head is dark and features a triangular or Y-shaped mark with a yellow or orange crown or a white fleck pattern.
Similar Species
There are 21 recognized species of Lampropeltis. The yellow-bellied kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) and the larger, more widely distributed common kingsnake (L. getula) are closely related to the short-tailed snake.
Geography
The short-tailed snake is rare and geographically limited, primarily occurring in the central ridges of the Florida peninsula. Fossil records show that the species has inhabited the area since the Pliocene. Historically the short-tailed snake occurred in 17 counties in Florida, but since 2000 the species has been found in only 11 of those counties.