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Virginia valeriae BAIRD & GIRARD, 1853

IUCN Red List - Virginia valeriae - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae (Natricinae), Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesVirginia valeriae elegans KENNICOTT 1859
Virginia valeriae pulchra (RICHMOND 1954)
Virginia valeriae valeriae BAIRD & GIRARD 1853 
Common NamesE: Smooth Earth Snake
elegans: Western Earth Snake
pulchra: Mountain Earth Snake
valeriae: Eastern Earth Snake
G: Glatte Erdschlange 
SynonymVirginia valeriae BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 127
Carphophis harperti DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 135
Virginia elegans KENNICOTT 1859: 99
Virginia valeriae — GARMAN 1884: 98
Virginia elegans— GARMAN 1884: 98
Virginia harperti — GARMAN 1884: 99
Virginia valeriae — COPE 1900: 1006
Haldea valeriae — CAMPBELL 1962
Virginia valeriae — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 173
Virginia valeriae — CROTHER 2000
Virginia valeriae valeriae — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000
Virginia valeriae — ERNST & ERNST 2003: 448
Virginia valeriae — WALLACH et al. 2014: 789
Virginia valeriae valeriae — GUYER et al. 2018

Virginia valeriae elegans KENNICOTT 1859
Virginia elegans KENNICOTT 1859: 99
Virginia elegans — JAN 1865
Virginia elegans — GARMAN 1884: 98
Virginia elegans — COPE 1900: 1007
Virginia valeriae elegans — ALLEN 1932
Haldea valeriae elegans — EDGREN & WARD 1952
Virginia valeriae elegans — DIXON 2000
Virginia valeriae elegans — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 67
Virginia valeriae elegans — GUYER et al. 2018

Virginia valeriae pulchra (RICHMOND 1954)
Haldea valeriae pulchra RICHMOND 1954
Haldea valeriae pulchra — COOPER 1967
Virginia valeriae pulchra — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 174
Virginia pulchra — COLLINS 1991
Virginia valeriae pulchra — CROTHER 2000
Virginia valeriae pulchra — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 65
Virginia pulchra — MESHAKA & COLLINS 2009
Virginia valeriae pulchra — CROTHER et al. 2012 
DistributionUSA (Texas, E Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, N Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, SE Iowa, E Kansas, S Ohio, Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania)

elegans: USA (Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas); Type locality: Heavily timbered regions of southern Illinois.

pulchra: USA (Unglaciated mountains and high plateaus of W Pennsylvania and adj. Maryland into NE West Virginia).

valeriae: USA (New Jersey to South Carolina, west to Alabama, Ohio and Tennessee); Type locality: Kent County, Maryland.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 1962, Collected by Miss V. Blaney in 1847.
Holotype: lost, presumed to be lost by Blanchard (1923), given as Chicago Academy of Sciences (CA) 126 by Pisani(1972), an adult male collected by 'Kennicott" (Kennicott, 1859, gave collectors as H. McVean and J.W, Waugh), date of collection unknown (fide Powerll et al. 1992) [elegans]
Holotype: CM 32205 (= Carnegie Museum), an adult female collected by N. Richmond on 10August 1953 [pulchra] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus): “Rather small; body stout; belly broad; head distinct from the neck, subconical, depressed; tail short, thick, tapering to a point. Eye medium, pupil round. Crown-shields eight or nine. Internasals two or one. Nostril anterior, in the anterior portion of the divided nasal. Loreal and anteorbital united. Prefrontal entering the orbit. Postorbitals two. Anal and subcaudals bifid. Scales smooth or keeled, in 15 to 17 rows.” (Garman 1884: 99)


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CommentSubspecies: Virginia valeriae pulchra has been elevated to species status. Collins (1991), in a peer-reviewed article, recommended that this previously defined, diagnosed, and allopatric taxon be recognized as a distinct species, a more conservative taxonomy than that in previous use. Collins (1997) presented this proposed change to his snake systematist group, composed of John E. Cadle, Brian I. Crother, Harry W. Greene, L. Lee Grismer, James A. MacMahon, James R. McCranie, and Samuel S. Sweet, and the majority of those individuals responding recommended that pulchra be so recognized. Collins (1997) followed that recommendation. [from: http://eagle.cc.ukans.edu/~cnaar/serpentes.html]. However, other others haven’t accepted species status yet.

Type species: Virginia valeriae BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 127 is the type species of the genus Virginia BAIRD & GIRARD 1853.

Key: Garman 1884: 97 has a key to the then recognized 5 species of Virginia. 
EtymologyNamed after Valeria Biddle Blaney (1828-1856), first cousin of Spencer Fullerton Baird, and collector of the type.

The genus was probably named after the US state of Virginia or some person of the same name. Baird and Girard do not provide any explanation for the name. 
References
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  • Beane, J C 2019. New geographic distribution records for reptiles from North Carolina, USA. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 538-542 - get paper here
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  • Collins, J.T. & Collins, S.L. 2009. A pocket guide to Kansas snakes, 2nd ed. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, 69 pp.
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