99: Lined Snake
Another for the "named for what it looks like" file
Let’s switch up our header. We’re at 99 animals so its time for a change. Today’s animal goes by many names - Tropidoclonium lineatum, lined snake, common snake, dwarf garter snake, grass snake, line snake, ribbon snake, streaked snake, striped snake, and swamp snake. It is the only species of its genus, and lives in grasslands from Illinois to Texas to eastern Colorado. The main distinctive feature of its olive-green/pale brown body is a yellow stripe that runs down its back. They are not very big – around 14-21” long – and spend much of their time under rocks, leaves, or soil. They are ovoviparous, a form of reproduction where embryos are inside of eggs that stay inside their mother’s body until they are ready hatch. This might sound like… just a live birth but the young are fed on egg yolk rather than a placenta.
