The northern redbelly snake (''Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata'') is a nonvenomous

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

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 ...

, a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of ''

Storeria occipitomaculata ''Storeria occipitomaculata'', commonly known as the redbelly snake or the red-bellied snake, is a species of snake endemic to North America (Canada and the United States). Description ''S. occipitomaculata'' is a small woodland species that ...

''. It is sometimes referred to as a fire snake. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

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 The Caribbean in some parts in Jamaica, and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in the north and south to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Description

Adults and young have known

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

colorations of solid olive-brown, tan-brown, chestnut-brown, grey-brown, grey or even black. They have three yellow spots posterior to the head shields, to which the specific name ''occipitomaculata'' (meaning spotted back of the head) refers. The underside is coral-red to brick-red. Coloration is usually made up of three different shades forming a striped pattern. Like all species of the genus ''

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

'', redbelly snakes have keeled scales and 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 ...

. Schmidt, K.P., and D.D. Davis. 1941. ''Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (''Storeria occipitomaculata'', pp. 229–230, Figure 74). Some specimens have been found with three black dots on the top of the head. Adults grow to about in total length (body + tail). Northern Redbelly Snake

Habitat

They live in moist

flowerbeds A flower garden or floral garden is any garden or part of a garden where plants that flower are grown and displayed. This normally refers mostly to herbaceous plants, rather than flowering woody plants, which dominate in the shrubbery and wo ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

s, and moist

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s, such as borders between a

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. They often rest under logs and rocks near a woods or forest.

Diet

They feed primarily on

slug 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 ...

s and

earthworm 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 ...

Reproduction

The northern redbelly snake gives birth to live young. Each newborn measures about in total length.

In captivity

They are known to live up to 4 years in captivity. Being nonvenomous, they can be safely held.

References

External links

Description from Nova Scotia Museum

''Storeria occipitomaculata''
a
The Reptile Database

* Behler JL, King FW. 1979. ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Knopf. 743 pp. . (''Storeria occipitomaculata'', pp. 655–656 + Plates 501, 505–506). * 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). (''Storeria occipitomaculata'', p. 156 + Plate 22 + Map 127). *Conant R, Bridges W. 1939. ''What Snake Is That?: A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains''. New York and London: D. Appleton-Century. Frontispiece map + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1–32. (''"Storeria occipito-maculata"'', pp. 110–111 + Plate 21, Figure 61). *Morris PA. 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. ("The Red-Bellied Snake", ''Storeria o. occipitomaculata'', pp. 28–29, 180). * Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr. 1982. ''Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification''. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. . (''Storeria occipitomaculata'', pp. 160–161). * Storer, DH. 1839. ''Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts''. Boston: Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. xii + 426 pp. (''"C luber occipito-maculatus"'', new species, p. 230). * Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). (''Storeria o. occipitomaculata'', pp. 714–721 + Figure 210 + Map 54). * Zim HS, Smith HM. 1956. ''Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide''. Revised edition. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. ("Red-bellied Snake", ''Storeria occipitomaculata'', pp. 106, 156). {{Taxonbar, from=Q16986614 Storeria Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States) Reptiles of the United States Reptiles described in 1839