''Storeria'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Natricinae The Natricinae are a subfamily of colubroid snakes, sometimes referred to as a family (Natricidae). The subfamily comprises 36 genera. Members include many very common snake species, such as the European grass snakes, and the North American wa ...

of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. C ...

. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. The genus consists of five

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, four of which are known as brown snakes, and one of which is known as the redbelly snake.

Geographic range

Species in the genus ''Storeria'' are found in the eastern half of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and southern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and range south through

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and northern

Etymology

The genus is named in honor of American physician and naturalist

David Humphreys Storer David Humphreys Storer (March 26, 1804 – September 10, 1891) was an American physician and naturalist. He served as dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 1855 to 1864. He identified numerous fish species and published ...

(1804–1891).

Description

As their common names imply, most snakes of the genus ''Storeria'' are a variant of

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

in color. The brown can vary depending on locale, to be almost a brick

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

in color, to nearly

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

. They sometimes have a lighter-colored stripe down the center of the back, and small

blotches along the body, and just behind the head. The underside is usually lighter brown-colored, yellow, or in the case of the redbelly snake, reddish in color. They rarely grow beyond in total length (including tail). One of the best means of identification is by scalation. The

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

are keeled, the head has no

loreal scale The lore (adj. loreal) is the region between the eyes and nostrils of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Ornithology In ornithology, the lore is the region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head. This region is sometimes featherless ...

, and the

postnasal scale In reptiles, the nasal scale refers to the scale that encloses the nostril. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Somet ...

touches the

preocular scale In scaled reptiles, the ocular scales are those forming the margin of the eye.Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. . The name originates from the term which is Latin f ...

. So, only two scales are between the nasal opening and the eye. Sexually mature males will reach a SVL of 118 mm and females will reach 126 mm.

Ecology

Within their ranges, brown snakes are very commonly found species of snake. They are most frequently found under

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

or debris piles, and are sometimes turned up during gardening. They will also be found under rocks, along riversides, and ravines. They are a species that tends to stay near moist environments that have high amounts of earthworm beds. They consume a variety of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

prey, including

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s and

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

s. Their only means of defense are flattening of the body and excretion from the anal scent glands. Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. (hardcover), (paperback). (Genus ''Storeria'', p. 153). Brown snakes give birth to live young.

Species and subspecies

*''

Storeria dekayi ''Storeria'' is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to North America and Central America. The genus consists of five species, four of which are known as brown snakes, and one of which is ...

'' ( Holbrook, 1836) – brown snake **'' Storeria dekayi anomala'' Dugès, 1888 **'' Storeria dekayi dekayi'' ( Holbrook, 1836) – northern brown snake **'' Storeria dekayi limnetes'' Anderson, 1961 – marsh brown snake **'' Storeria dekayi temporalineata'' Trapido, 1944 **'' Storeria dekayi texana'' Trapido, 1944 – Texas brown snake **''

Storeria dekayi tropica ''Storeria'' is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to North America and Central America. The genus consists of five species, four of which are known as brown snakes, and one of which is ...

Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

, 1885 **'' Storeria dekayi wrightorum'' Trapido, 1944 – midland brown snake *'' Storeria hidalgoensis''

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

, 1942 – Mexican yellowbelly brown snake *'' Storeria occipitomaculata'' ( Storer, 1839) – redbelly snake **'' Storeria occipitomaculata obscura'' Trapido, 1944 – Florida redbelly snake **'' Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata'' (Storer, 1839) – northern redbelly snake **'' Storeria occipitomaculata pahasapae'' H.M. Smith, 1963 – Black Hills redbelly snake *'' Storeria storerioides'' (Cope, 1866) – Mexican brown snake *'' Storeria victa'' O.P. Hay, 1892 – Florida brown snake ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than ''Storeria''.

Gallery

Image:BrownSnake_BrandonDempster.jpg Image:BrownSnake1_BrandonDempster.jpg Image:BrownSnake2_BrandonDempster.jpg Image:BrownSnake3_BrandonDempster.jpg Image:BrownSnake4_BrandonDempster.jpg Image:BrownSnakeSM BrandonDempster.JPG

References

External links

Brown Snake (''Storeria dekayi'' )
Species account from the Savanna River Ecology Laboratory Herpetology Program (University of Georgia). Accessed April 6, 2014. *
Brown Snake - ''Storeria dekayi''
Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide. {{Taxonbar, from=Q310717 Storeria Extant Pleistocene first appearances Snake genera Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird