Midwestern worm snake
The subspecific name, "helenae", is in honor of "Miss Helen Tennison", Robert Kennicott's cousin, who collected specimens for him in Mississippi. Additional common names for "C. a. helenae" include central twig snake, central worm snake, ground snake, Helen's snake, Helen Tennison's snake, Helen's worm snake, red snake, and worm snake. The subspecies "C. a. helenae" ranges from southern Ohio to northern Georgia in the east and from southern Illinois to eastern Louisiana in the west. When adult, "C. a. helenae" is small and wormlike, rarely growing longer than in total length (including tail). It is plain dark brown on top and light pink on its underside. The scalation on the anterior dorsal surface of the head is distinctive. Instead of having a pair of internasals and a pair of prefrontals, as are found in most snakes including other subspecies of "C. amoenus", the midwestern worm snake has each internasal fused with its corresponding prefrontal. As a result, in the space between the rostral and the frontal, "C. a. helenae" has two large head shields, one on the left and one on the right, instead of the usual four smaller shields. The midwestern worm snake is fossorial. It spends its life burrowing in moist soil or under the leaf litter searching for soft-bodied prey, with a preference for earthworms. This secretive snake prefers mesic deciduous forest.
Description
The midwestern worm snake, Carphophis amoenus helenae, a subspecies of "C. amoenus", is a nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae.