Storeria
| Storeria | |
|---|---|
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| Texas Brown Snake, Storeria dekayi texana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Natricinae |
| Genus: | Storeria Baird & Girard, 1853 |
| Synonyms | |
Storeria is a genus of colubrid snakes. The genus consists of four species, three of which are known as brown snakes, and the other is known as the redbelly snake. They are found primarily in the United States and Mexico but range as far north as southern Canada, and as far south as Central America. The genus is named in honor of American physician and zoologist David Humphreys Storer (1804–1891).
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[edit] Description
As their common name implies, most snakes of the genus Storeria are a variant of brown in color. The brown can vary depending on locale, to be almost a brick red in color, to nearly black. They sometimes have a lighter colored stripe down the center of the back, and small black blotches along the body, and just behind the head. Their underside is usually lighter brown colored, yellow, or in the case of redbelly snakes, reddish in color. They rarely grow beyond 12 inches in length. One of the best means of identification is by its scales. Snakes in the genus Storeria have keeled scales. On the head there is no loreal scale and the postnasal scale touches the preocular scale. So, there are only two scales between the nasal opening and the eye.
[edit] Behavior
Within their range, they are a very commonly found species of snake. They are most frequently found under leaf litter or debris piles, and are sometimes turned up during gardening. They consume a variety of invertebrate prey, including, earthworms, snails and slugs. Their only means of defense are flattening of the body and excretion from the anal scent glands.[2][3]
[edit] Species
- brown snake, Storeria dekayi
- Storeria dekayi anomala Dugès, 1888
- Northern brown snake, Storeria dekayi dekayi (Holbrook, 1836)
- marsh brown snake, Storeria dekayi limnetes Anderson, 1961
- Storeria dekayi temporalineata Trapido, 1944
- Texas brown snake, Storeria dekayi texana Trapido, 1944
- Storeria dekayi tropica Cope, 1885
- Florida brown snake, Storeria dekayi victa O.P. Hay, 1892
- Midland brown snake, Storeria dekayi wrightorum Trapido, 1944
- Mexican yellowbelly brown snake, Storeria hidalgoensis Taylor, 1942
- redbelly snake, Storeria occipitomaculata (Storer, 1839)
- Florida redbelly snake, Storeria occipitomaculata obscura Trapido, 1944
- Northern redbelly snake, Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata (Storer, 1839)
- Black Hills redbelly snake, Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae H.M. Smith, 1963
- Mexican brown snake, Storeria storerioides (Cope, 1866)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Wright, A.H. & A.A. Wright. 1957. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada Comstock. Ithaca and London. pp. 696-697.
- ^ Schmidt, K.P. and D.D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York. p. 228.
- ^ Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. p. 153.
[edit] References
- Houston Herpetological Society: Visual Key to the Snakes of Harris County, Texas
- Genus Storeria at The Reptile Database
- Brown Snake - Storeria dekayi Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
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