Fossorial and seldom seen, it is found only in sandy, upland parts of Florida where it is listed as Threatened and is protected by state law.

This refers to the stiffness of the short-tailed snake's body,[4] which is caused by its wide and inflexible column of unusually short vertebrae.

Like other snakes of the tribe Lampropeltini, it vibrates its tail when startled by predators or people but can be distinguished from a rattlesnake by its slender build and lack of a rattle.

As a member of the tribe Lampropeltini, L. extenuata is ultimately derived from Old World rat snakes that crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America more than 20 million years ago.

In 2009 Pyron and Burbrink resolved to include it in the kingsnake genus Lampropeltis based on multiple lines of molecular and morphological evidence obtained in theirs and earlier studies.