''Storeria dekayi'', commonly known as De Kay's brown snake, De Kay's snake, and simply the brown snake (along with many others), is a small non-venomous

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Colubridae Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ever ...

. The species is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Geographic range

''S. dekayi'' is native to Southern Ontario and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, most of the eastern half of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, through

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, and possibly

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. www.reptile-database.org. More specifically, this common species inhabits most wetland and terrestrial habitats east of the Great Plains from sea level to 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above sea level.

Description

Dorsally, ''S. dekayi'' is brown to gray with a lighter center stripe bordered by small black spots; ventrally, it is lighter brown or pink with small black dots at the ends of the ventral scales. Adults usually measure less than in total length (including tail), but the record total length is . 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, and it 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 featherles ...

Reproduction

Like other natricine snakes such as water snakes (

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

'' Nerodia'') and garter snakes (

'' Thamnophis''), ''S. dekayi'' is a viviparous species, giving birth to live young. Sexual maturity is reached at two to three years. Mating takes place in the spring, after snakes emerge from

brumation Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be clos ...

. Between 3 and 41 young are born in late summer.

Diet

''S. dekayi'' primarily feeds on

slugs Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less 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 shell, or only a smal ...

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

, and

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

. In the southern extent of its region the snake usually preys predominantly on earthworms, however in the northern reaches of its range slugs are the predominant food source. It has specialized jaws that allow it to remove snails from their shells for consumption. Reports of other invertebrates (such as

woodlice A woodlouse (plural woodlice) is an isopod crustacean from the polyphyleticThe current consensus is that Oniscidea is actually triphyletic suborder Oniscidea within the order Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood. ...

mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

, or millipedes) in the diet of ''S. dekayi'' are more than likely the result of accidental ingestion rather than intentional feeding, in which one of these invertebrates may have adhered to a slug or other prey item being consumed.

Ecology

''S. dekayi'' is a prey item for larger snakes, large frogs and toads,

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, and many mammals including

weasels Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''dekayi'', is in honor of American zoologist James Ellsworth De Kay (1792–1851), who collected the first specimen on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, while the

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name, ''Storeria'', honors zoologist

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 1855–1864, and published on the reptiles and fishes of New Engla ...

.Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.html Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Storeria dekayi'', p. 68; genus ''Storeria'', p. 255; ''Storeria dekayi wrightorum'', p. 289). This is the only North American snake whose binomial is a double honorific – that is, both the generic name and the specific name honor people. Eastern Brown Snake

References

External links

Brown Snake
Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa.

* Behler JL, King FW (1979). ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Knopf. 743 pp. . (''Storeria dekayi'', pp. 654–655 + Plate 550). * Boulenger GA (1893). ''Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (''Ischnognathus dekayi'', pp. 286–287). *Clausen, H.J. (1936). "Observations on the Brown Snake ''Storeria dekayi'' (Holbrook), with especial Reference to the Habits and Birth of Young". ''Copeia'' 1936: 98-102. * Conant, Roger; Bridges, William (1939). ''What Snake is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains''. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (''Storeria dekayi'', pp. 108–110 + Plate C, Figure 14; Plate 21, Figure 60). * Goin, Coleman J.; Goin, Olive B.; Zug, George R. (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology: Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. xi + 378 pp. . (''Storeria dekayi'', p. 117). * Holbrook JE (1842). ''North American Herpetology; or, a Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Vol. IV.'' Philadelphia: J. Dobson. 136 pp. (''Tropidonotus dekayi'', new combination, pp. 53–55 & Plate XIV opposite p. 53). * Morris, Percy A. (1948). ''Boy's Book of Snakes: How to Recognize and Understand Them''. (A volume of the Humanizing Science Series, edited by

Jaques Cattell Jaques (Jack) Cattell (2 June 1904 in Garrison, New York – 19 December 1961) was an American publisher and founder of a company bearing his name, "Jaques Cattell Press, Inc.," based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jaques Cattell Press, Inc. The Sc ...

). New York: Ronald Press. viii + 185 pp. (''Storeria dekayi dekayi'', pp. 26–28, 180). * Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). ''Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition''. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp. . (''Storeria dekayi'', pp. 423–424, Figures 192-193 + Plate 42). * Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). ''Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species''. A Golden Nature Guide. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. (''Storeria dekayi'' pp. 106, 156). {{Taxonbar, from=Q2880329 Storeria Snakes of North America Reptiles of Canada Reptiles of the United States Snake, Brown Fauna of the Great Lakes region (North America) Reptiles of Mexico Snakes of Central America Reptiles of Guatemala Reptiles of Honduras Extant Pleistocene first appearances Reptiles described in 1836 Taxa named by John Edwards Holbrook