Squamata suborder Serpentes
Tropidoclonion lineatum -- Lined Snake
All information found on this site falls under the INHS's Internet License Agreement.
Purple shade indicates vouchered specimens. Light blue (cyan)
shade indicates photographic records. Yellow shade indicates verified
sighting. Slanted hatch indicates pre-1980 records only
NOTE: Not all specimens upon which these maps are based have been verified.
Key Characteristics: White to gray midback stripe and another on each side; double row of dark half-moons extends down the midbelly; back scales keeled; anal plate not divided.
Similar Species: Common garter snake, plains garter snake.
Subspecies: Northern lined snake, T. l. lineatum.
Description: Small (up to 35 cm TL), slender olive brown to gray-brown snake. Each pale stripe is bordered by a row of minute black dots (dots more conspicuous in young). Head small, barely wider than body.
Habitat: Grasslands and urban lots in former prairie, where it is found under rocks, logs, leaves, boards, and other debris.
Natural History: Active March to November, spending less time at the surface during hot summers and more after heavy rains. Mates in late August and 5-10 young are born the following August or September. Newborn are 7-12 cm TL. This secretive and semifossorial nocturnal snake subsists almost entirely on earthworms. Predators include other snakes, birds, and mammals. Often curls its tail into a tight coil when disturbed, but otherwise passive.
Status: Rare and known from only a few scattered localities, mostly urban vacant lots, in central counties.