Virginia valeriae
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae) is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid snake native to the eastern half of the United States. The specific name or epithet, valeriae, is in honor of Valeria Biddle Blaney (1828–1900), who collected the first specimen in Kent County, Maryland, and was a first cousin of Spencer Fullerton Baird.
The smooth earth snake is found from Texas and Iowa to New Jersey and Florida. The following is a description of the scalation of Virginia valeriae. Rostral nearly as deep as broad, visible from above; internasals much shorter than the prefrontals; frontal longer than broad, shorter than the parietals; loreal one and a half to two and a half times as long as deep; two or three postoculars; temporals 1+2; six upper labials, third and fourth entering the eye; four lower labials in contact with the anterior chin shields, which are as long as or shorter than the posterior. Dorsal scales in 15 or 17 rows. Anal divided. Ventrals 111–135; subcaudals 24–37.
The following description of coloration of a live specimen (not in alcohol) uses Robert Ridgway's Color Standards and Color Nomenclature (1912... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Smooth Earthsnake sighting in Washington on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 25 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Smooth Earthsnake in Washington on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Smooth Earthsnake sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Washington, in our data
Washington is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Smooth Earthsnake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Smooth Earthsnake that you can see in Washington (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Common Watersnake (about 30%), Eastern/Central Ratsnake Complex (about 20%) and DeKay's Brownsnake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Smooth Earthsnake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Washington (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
