A small, secretive Midwestern North American natricine snake that lives almost entirely in burrows beneath wet meadows and is now seriously declining.
Description
Kirtland’s snake is a tiny snake under 50 cm with reddish-brown to grey-brown ground colour, four rows of small dark spots along the back, and a bright reddish or orange belly bordered by a clean black line on each side. The head is small and the body slender.
Behavior
The species spends most of its life underground in crayfish burrows and emerges briefly after rains to forage for earthworms. It is the most fossorial natricine snake in North America and is rarely seen even where it persists. When handled it flattens the body to appear larger.
Range
Restricted to a patchy range across the lower Midwest of the United States, including parts of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Michigan. Habitat loss and drainage of wet prairie have eliminated the species from most of its historic range.
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