Small. Fossorial. Plain brown. Belly uniform light tan. Dorsal scales strongly keeled. Five supralabial scales, one postocular scale, and one internasal scale. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 461 records from 30 sources: 387 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 52 observation (
), with 22 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 51 of 75 counties (), with 5 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1897 to present.
This species has a patchy distribution in the state, with most records from the Ozark Highlands, Arkansas Valley, and South Central Plains. All records from the Mississippi Alluvial Plain are dated prior to 1970, with the exception of a single contemporary photographic record from Jonesboro, Craighead County. Some specimens, particularly those from the Ouachita Mountains, may warrant reexamination due to similarities in appearance with Virginia valeriae elegans. It is likely this species has a much broader range in Arkansas than is currently established.
